The index of German business sentiment fell in February more than expected, according to a survey showed on Tuesday, as expectations of managers for the next six months have worsened.
The influential index fell to 105.7 points in February, from 107.3 last month, the Ifo Institute said. Economists expected a decline to 106.8.
Although the vision of entrepreneurs about their current situation improved its forecast for the next six months worsened significantly.
This is the third consecutive month of decline in the index, which is based on monthly surveys of some 7,000 firms in Germany.
On the other hand, the German statistics office announced earlier Tuesday that the country last year reached its highest budget surplus since reunification quarter century ago.
The federal, state and local governments last year accumulated a surplus of 19,400 million euros (21,500 million dollars), compared to 8,900 million euros the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. That surpassed the previous record of about 18,200 million euros in 2000.
The surplus last year was 0.6% of GDP, double the 0.3% of last year.
The German economy, Europe’s largest, grew by 1.7% last year and is expected to repeat that number this year. The strong growth has boosted tax revenues allowed the government to reach a surplus at a time when other European countries have considerable deficits.
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