German Ifo business climate
How German businesses see their prospects.
The basics
About 9,000 German firms say how business is now and how they expect it to be in six months. Germany is the euro area’s biggest economy.
How to read the result
- Above the forecast
- A reading above the forecast often lifts the euro and German shares.
- Below the forecast
- A reading below the forecast often weakens the euro.
Going deeper
The expectations part tends to lead the current-conditions part by a few months.
FAQs
- Why can the price move the “wrong” way?
- Prices already reflect the forecast, so markets react to the surprise, not the number itself. Other parts of the same release, revisions to earlier months or other news in the same hour can outweigh the headline figure, and a first move often reverses within the hour.
- Should I close my trade before the release?
- That is your decision; this page does not give advice. What is certain is that prices can jump in seconds around big releases, spreads widen, and a stop loss can close at a worse price than the one you set. Many traders check their position size and stop before the release.