German Business Climate Edges Higher Under Shadow Of EU-US Trade War

- Headline reading continues rise started in March

- Main components undershoot market forecasts

- German PMIs offer little hope

By Eric Culp, European Editor

LiveSquawk News

@eculp.bsky.social

@EricCulpLS

25 June 2025 | 08:45 GMT

FRANKFURT –– Confidence continued to grow among German managers in July, but less so than in recent months.

Germany’s Ifo economics institute said Friday its latest survey of domestic companies showed an improvement in the headline business climate index for the fifth straight month. The July measure rose two-tenths to 88.6 points, leaving it below the market estimate of 89.0

The expectations component for the coming six months also fell short of the market forecast. It ticked up a tenth to 90.7 points, but only after the June mark was revised down a tenth to 90.6.

The current conditions measure of the index climbed to 86.5 points from 86.2 last month and missed its estimate of 86.7.

 

“The upturn in the German economy remains sluggish,” Ifo said.

 

The economic thinktank noted its index for services “deteriorated”. Construction continued to improve, it said, with the manufacturing index also moving higher. 

 

Source: Ifo

The bad and the good

Two issues are likely on the minds of German managers: US tariffs and Berlin’s spending plans. Brussels and Washington still haven’t found common ground on trade, which is likely muting optimism at companies reliant on the US market. Conversely, the new German government is pushing forward with plans to spend hundreds of billions of euros on infrastructure and defence, boons to local firms.

 

“To be clear, the near-term outlook for the German economy will still be highly affected by the ongoing trade tensions, possible US tariffs and the stronger euro,” ING’s Carsten Brzeski wrote. “It remains remarkable that German businesses seem to almost completely ignore these risks. This return of optimism could also get a cold shower next week when the first estimate of second-quarter GDP growth is released.”

 

This month’s preliminary purchasing manager indices from Germany offered little optimism. S&P Global said on Thursday that the composite reading for Europe’s largest economy slipped to a worse-than-expected 50.3 points, a two-month low barely over the 50-point line separating the growth territory above from the contraction area below. The rise in the manufacturing component pushed it to a less-than-anticipated 49.2, with the services reading of 50.1 beat the forecast.

 

German investor confidence rallied this month, with the ZEW thinktank saying the measure for the coming six months reached its highest mark since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.

 

 

 

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