German companies' confidence unexpectedly deteriorated this month due to growing pessimism about business prospects at the beginning of next year. Germany's IFO business climate index for December fell from 88.0 in November to 87.6 in December. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected the index to rise slightly to 88.3. Clemens Fuest, president of the German think tank IFO, said, “This year ended without any optimism.” He said that the company is more pessimistic about the outlook for the first half of 2026, while the assessment of current business conditions remains unchanged. Of the four industries surveyed, business confidence in manufacturing, services and trade all declined this month, Ifo said. The other industry, the construction industry, remained at a low level and remained unchanged.

German companies' confidence unexpectedly deteriorated this month due to growing pessimism about business prospects at the beginning of next year. Germany's IFO business climate index for December fell from 88.0 in November to 87.6 in December. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected the index to rise slightly to 88.3. Clemens Fuest, president of the German think tank IFO, said, “This year ended without any optimism.” He said that the company is more pessimistic about the outlook for the first half of 2026, while the assessment of current business conditions remains unchanged. Of the four industries surveyed, business confidence in manufacturing, services and trade all declined this month, Ifo said. The other industry, the construction industry, remained at a low level and remained unchanged.