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Ifo says German export climate hits 15-yr low

BERLIN - The outlook for German exports has deteriorated to its worst level in over 15 years, according to an index compiled by the Munich-based Ifo economic research institute for German magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

‘The negative picture is heavily influenced by the poor mood among consumers and firms among Germany's European trading partners,’ Ifo said, according to the magazine on Sunday.

Ifo's export climate indicator for Germany, the world's biggest exporter of goods, fell by 0.08 points to minus 1.24 points, the lowest reading since May 1993, the report said.

Behind the bleak outlook was the fact that France, Italy and Spain were teetering on the brink of recession, it added. Some two thirds of exports from Europe's largest economy go to other countries within the 27-nation European Union.

After growing 1.3 percent in the first quarter, German gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.5 percent in the April-June period, and a number of leading economists have said the economy could contract again in the third quarter.

Last week, Ifo said expectations for the global economy were now at their lowest level in nearly 18 years.