German business confidence unexpectedly increases in January

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BERLIN, Jan. 27 (Chinese media) -- German business confidence has slightly increased in January, the Ifo institute in Munich said on Tuesday, out of the expectation of experts.

The Ifo institute said German business confidence increased to 83 in January from 82.7 in December, ending the falling trend since June 2008, as the influence of global financial crisis becomes more and more serious, but this data can not be taken as a cyclical turnaround.

The Ifo said the firms in manufacturing and exports continue to expect a very unfavorable business development, while the wholesalers and retailers regard their present situation as well as their outlook less negatively than in December.

Economists expected German business confidence will fall to 81,the median of 37 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey shows.

The unexpected rise may have been caused by the European Central Bank lowering its interest rates and the government doubling its economic stimulus package to fight the recession, according to the local media.

The Ifo began calculating German business confidence from January 1991, based on a survey of 7,000 executives.