German Business Sentiment Declines in December, Ifo Survey Shows
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) - German business morale unexpectedly fell in December, a survey showed on Wednesday, as Europe's largest economy continues to struggle to growth.
The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 87.6 this month from a slightly downwardly revised 88.0 in November. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a slight increase to 88.2.
"This year there are no presents for the German economy," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo.
Germany has struggled to regain momentum this year, with only modest growth forecast following two years of contraction.
Companies are looking more pessimistically at the first half of 2026, said Ifo's president Clemens Fuest.
The indicator for the current situation remained unchanged, with the year ending without any sense of optimism, added Fuest.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Klaus Lauer, Miranda Murray and Ludwig Burger)
