Sentiment is turning: Mainly because of the economic recovery in the USA and China
Container port in Qingdao, China
The mood among German exporters is better than it has been for almost two and a half years in view of the expected upturn in key trading partners such as the USA and China. The barometer for the export expectations of the industry climbed from 7.5 to 10.7 points in February, as the Munich Ifo Institute announced on Tuesday, citing its monthly survey of 2,300 companies.
A higher value was last observed in September 2018. “The good economic activity in China and the rising production in the USA are helping German exporters,” said Ifo President Clemens Fuest. The world's two largest economies are the most important buyers of goods “Made in Germany”.
The chemical industry and mechanical engineering companies each expect significant growth in their foreign business. The same applies to mechanical engineering. “The automobile manufacturers were able to overcome their three-month intermediate low,” explained Fuest. “You are now expecting more orders from abroad.” For manufacturers of electrical equipment, export expectations even rose to their highest level since February 2018. For the furniture and clothing industries, however, the foreign market remains difficult: here the companies assume it will that sales will decline significantly.
