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November 25, 2011 at 05:17 AM
Although a sovereign debt sale on Wednesday left nearly half of Germany’s bund offerings unsold, the nation’s business confidence rose unexpectedly in a report issued Thursday, when it was expected to have fallen.
Bloomberg reported that in its own survey of economists, Germany’s business climate index, issued by Munich-based Ifo Institute, was expected to decline to 105.2 from its October level of 106.4. However, the index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, instead rose to 106.6. It was the first increase in the index in five months, and coming just after a bond sale that had been described as a disaster, was especially surprising.
However, Germany’s unemployment level remains near a 20-year low, and consumer spending remains fairly steady. The country’s economy expanded 0.5% in Q3, more than the 0.3% it managed in Q2, and it was almost completely due to domestic demand, according to a final reading from the Federal Statistics Office released Thursday. Ifo said its evaluation of the present conditions held steady at 116.7, while an index of executives’ expectations rose to 97.3 from 97.
