According to forecasts by the Munich based ifo-Institute the economic prospects for Germany are still promising. This opinion is based on the ifo business climate industrial index for May. Even though the companies questioned consider their current business situations to be slightly less favorable than in April this year, they are nevertheless optimistic with regard to the six months to come.
Even though industrial companies see their current situation somewhat less optimistic they are even more optimistic than in April about their business prospects for the next six months. The same applies for their export business. The number of companies planning to create new jobs has increased.
As far as retail trade is concerned the business index has fallen given that companies in this field consider both their current situation and that of the coming six next months to be less optimistic. In wholesale trade, however, the index has increased given that future expectations have become much more optimistic.
With regard to the construction industry the index has slightly fallen. This is due to the fact that the current situation is considered to be slightly less profitable while prospects stayed unchanged. 