German business confidence edges higher: Ifo
German business confidence edged higher in September to its best level in a year but missed market expectations, a key survey showed on Thursday just ahead of elections in Europe's biggest economy.
Business sentiment gained 0.8 points from August to 91.3, the Ifo research institute said, for the widely-watched index's sixth monthly increase.
However, analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a rise to 92 points as Germany begins to pull out of its deepest recession in six decades.
It was the Ifo's survey's highest reading since September 2008 when the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers helped plunge the global financial system into crisis.
With German elections scheduled on Sunday, the increasingly positive economic mood is likely to work in favour of Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democrats are leading in the polls.
"Appraisals of the business situation and outlook have improved," Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement, while adding that the majority of firms "still assesses the business situation as poor."
Official data shows German climbed out of a historic recession in the second quarter, registering growth of 0.3 percent from the first three months of the year.
ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski welcomed the Ifo data, saying: "Although the speed of the improvement is slowing, for the time being, the only way is up.
"Multiple tailwinds should have brought a warm 'Indian Summer' to Germany, with another growth surprise in the third quarter," he said.
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