largest economy is robust enough to weather risks including a global slowdown and Volkswagen AG’s emissions scandal.
The Ifo institute’s business climate index climbed to 109 in November, the highest level since June 2014, from 108.2 in October. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for the measure to stay unchanged. Ifo said the Paris terror attacks didn’t have a negative impact on the survey data.
German companies are battling to cope with a slowing global economy, the homegrown scandal at its biggest carmaker, a refugee crisis, and now a threat to euro-area consumer confidence after the Paris attacks and lockdown of Brussels. Even so, record-low unemployment and interest rates are supporting domestic demand, and more stimulus may be ahead as the European Central Bank considers whether to ease monetary policy further.
“The outlook for the German economy looks healthy,” Andreas Rees, an economist at UniCredit SpA in Frankfurt, said before Tuesday’s report. “We expect a rebound in growth at year-end.”