The July Ifo survey showed a surprisingly small deterioration in economic sentiment. The headline business climate index dropped just 0.4 points to 108.3, reflecting slightly weaker business expectations and masking a minimal improvement in the assessment of current conditions.
Expectations declined a modest 0.9 points to 102.2 and so only reversed a portion of June's 1.4 point gain. The new level was still towards the upper end of the range recorded over 2016 so far and suggests that businesses are not overly concerned about the implications of the Brexit vote. At the same time, the current conditions measure was up 0.1 points at 114.7, its third consecutive advance and its highest level since August 2015.
At a sector level, morale was more positive in construction and retail but declined in both manufacturing and wholesale. However, even where falls were registered, the July levels remained relatively firm compared with recent months.