Sentiment among German businesses weakened further this month. The ifo Business Climate Index fell to 102.0 points in November from 102.9 points (seasonally adjusted) in October, marking its third consecutive decrease. Companies scaled back their assessments of the current business situation albeit from a high level. Their business expectations also clouded over. Together with other indicators, these results point to 0.3 percent economic growth in the fourth quarter at most. The German economy is cooling down.

In manufacturing the business climate deteriorated once again. This development was driven by markedly less favourable assessments of the current business situation. Expectations were also scaled back. Only a few manufacturers still expect an improvement in the next six months. More survey participants nevertheless reported plans to increase prices.

The services sector, the index fell this month due to less optimistic expectations. By contrast, service providers upwardly revised their assessments of the current business situation slightly.