(Updated with details, background, comments)
Michelle Martin
BERLIN, Jan. 26 (Reuters) – The business climate in Germany rose for the third month a row in January reached its highest level in six months, according to the monthly survey by the Ifo Institute published Monday.
It confirms a good start to the year for the first economy Europe, benefiting from lower oil prices and favorable exchange rates.
The Ifo index, calculated on the basis of a survey of about 7,000 companies, stood at 106.7, the highest since July against 105.5 in December. Economists polled by Reuters on average predicted a figure of 106.3.
“Overall almost everything is there for a new strong year for the German economy. In any case, in a perfect world flat, “says economist Carsten ING Breszki.
” However, the impact of the Greek elections will prove that these perfect and linear worlds do not exist. “
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the radical left party Syriza, winner early parliamentary elections, promised on Sunday night to end five years of austerity, “humiliation and suffering” imposed by international creditors to Greece.
The German political leaders have called on Greece to respect its commitments and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Sunday that he was also in the interest of the Greek government to implement reforms.
The Ifo survey shows that companies have a more positive view of the current situation in relation to December and it also became slightly more optimistic about the outlook for the next six months.
The sentiment sub-index measuring the current situation has improved to 111.7 against 109.8 (revised from 110.0), exceeding the consensus was 110.7. The one on the outlook, a slight increase to 102.0 against 101.3 (revised from 101.1), however, stood below expectations (102.5).
Klaus Wohlrabe, Ifo economist , said that German industry benefited from the weakness of the euro and oil prices, and he did not see “black cloud” on the horizon.
He added that the impact of the comprehensive plan for asset purchases announced last week by the Central Bank (ECB) to try to boost growth and prevent the risk of deflation is not yet reflected in the survey Ifo.
Some companies have recently made positive announcements, including sports equipment manufacturer Adidas and Beiersdorf, owner of the Nivea brand, both of which have been published better than expected sales in 2014 .
The Ifo survey shows an improvement in almost all segments of the economy – industry, services and trade – with the exception of construction, which experienced a slight deterioration
. The indicators published the last week have shown an improvement in investor sentiment and an acceleration of growth in the private sector in the country.
The German economy grew by 1.5% the last year, driven by private consumption and foreign trade, and government sources, Berlin could revise up its forecast for 2015 from 1.3 to 1.5%.
Table of Inquiry
The German real-time indicators (Michelle Martin, Veronique Tison for the French service)
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