German Entrepreneurs' Confidence In The Economy Fell For The First Time In Six Months
German entrepreneurs' mood worsened in October and their confidence in the economy fell, for the first time in six months.
This is due to concerns about the sharp rise in new cases of COVID-19. Entrepreneurs are thus more skeptical about their expectations in the coming months. This was shown on Monday by the results of a survey by the renowned Ifo Institute for Economic Research.
According to Ifo, the business confidence index in Germany fell to 92.7 points in October from 93.2 points in September. The decline in the index followed five months of growth.
"Companies are also much more skeptical about developments in the next six months," President Ifo Clemens Fuest said in a statement. "Given the growing number of infections, German companies are becoming increasingly concerned," he added.
This is also indicated by the sub-index of business expectations, which fell to 95 points this month from 96.5 points in September, although the sub-index of current economic conditions rose slightly to 90.3 from 89.9 points in the previous month.
According to analysts, these results signal that the outlook for Europe's largest economy is deteriorating in the fourth quarter, and the threat of a second recession is rising in Germany and throughout the eurozone.