In December, German business morale experienced a more significant decline than anticipated, heightening concerns about the possibility of the eurozone’s largest economy contracting for the second consecutive quarter by the end of 2023.
The highly monitored business climate index, generated by the Ifo Institute in Munich, dropped to 86.4 in December, as revealed in Monday’s published figures. This marked a decline from the previous month’s 87.2 and was notably below the 87.8 figure projected by analysts in a Reuters poll. The Ifo survey serves as an early indicator of the health of German industry, offering insights several months before official statistics are released. Coupled with a decrease in the December PMI index reported the previous week, these findings suggest a year-end decline in economic activity for Germany.
Notably, the construction sector exhibited particularly low morale, with current and future sentiment reaching its lowest level since September 2005. Approximately half of builders anticipated a further deterioration in business conditions. Additional data from Destatis, the federal statistics office, underscored the mounting pressure on Germany’s construction sector. Residential building permits from January to October recorded a significant 26.7% year-on-year decrease, falling to 218,100, as reported by Destatis on Monday. The property sector, which had been a key driver of recent growth in the German economy, faced challenges due to rising interest rates. Destatis data on Monday revealed significant annual declines in building permits for single-family homes (38.2%), two-family homes (50.5%), and multi-family homes (25.2%). In the second quarter, house prices experienced an annual drop of nearly 10%, the most substantial decline among all member states.
Both the Ifo and PMI indices strongly indicate a prolonged economic downturn. It looks very likely that GDP will contract for a second successive quarter in Q4, and the outlook for 2024 does not look much better. Germany had experienced a 0.1% decline in economic output in the three months leading up to September, according to official statistics.
While the Ifo index had shown improvement from September to November, the latest results erased most of those gains. This month’s drop confirms that the eurozone’s largest economy entered a technical recession at the end of the year, attributing the results to a government impasse over public finances following a November court ruling that left a €60bn hole in the budget.
The Ifo Institute reported that companies were less satisfied with their current business and more skeptical about the first half of 2024. The assessment of the current business situation notably declined in energy-intensive industries but saw a slight improvement in the services sector. Expectations for the next six months in the restaurant and catering industry took a substantial downturn.
As a solution to these problems in the coming period, the central bank should consider adjusting interest rates to encourage borrowing and spending. The current decline in inflation will make this adjustment more comfortable. Policies to address friction in the supply chain need to be implemented, possibly through diplomatic or trade negotiations, which may alleviate some of the economic difficulties caused by the disruptions. Given the challenges in the housing sector, introducing incentives such as tax breaks or subsidies for housing construction will encourage growth in this area.
Implementation of reforms aimed at increasing flexibility and efficiency in the labor market, especially by easing the social state structure, will contribute to economic resilience. Therefore, citizens should be encouraged to work.
Simplifying regulations on new enterprises and improving the overall business environment can attract investment and stimulate economic growth.
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