West German Ifo data for February was surprisingly good and indicates that a recovery for the German economy will take place in the second half of this year, according to economists.
The West German Ifo business climate index rose to 88.7 in February from 86.2 in January. Economists expected the index to rise to 87.0 in February.
In addition, the West German business expectations index rose to 101.0 from 94.8 in January.
"The worst is over," said HSBC Trinkaus economist Mr Lothar Hessler.
Mr Hessler said the expectations index is the driving factor for the German economy, and that he expects a recovery in the second half of the year.
German fourth-quarter GDP is expected to show a quarter-on-quarter decline of around 0.3 pct tomorrow, but GDP is likely to rise around 0.2 pct in the first quarter, he said.
The German economy is on course to grow around 0.9 pct in 2002 as a whole, he said.
AFP