FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – German business optimism rose unexpectedly in February as executives appeared to shrug off initial worries about U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, providing another sign that Europe’s economy is gaining pace.
The Ifo institute index rose to 111.0 points from 109.9 the previous month. That confounded market analyst expectations for a dip to 109.7 and leaves it well above its long-term average of 101.9 points.
The Munich-based research institute surveys 7,000 businesses in Europe’s biggest economy about their view of how things are right now and how the situation will develop in coming months. Sentiment had weakened slightly in January.
Ifo head Clemens Fuest said in a statement Wednesday that “after a restrained start to the year the German economy is again on a good path.”
The economy of the 19-country eurozone grew 1.7 percent last year. Unemployment has slowly fallen to a still-painful 9.6 percent. The recovery has been supported by large-scale monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank, which has lowered its interest rate benchmark to zero and pumped newly printed money into the economy through purchases of government and corporate bonds.