BERLIN — A closely watched survey shows that German business confidence rebounded this month — an unexpectedly strong showing that sends a hopeful signal for Europe's biggest economy.
The Ifo think tank said Friday that its confidence index rose to 105.7 points for May from 104.4 last month. The upturn followed two consecutive declines and beat economists' expectations of a very slight increase to 104.5.
The German economy returned to modest growth in the first quarter and the country's central bank said this week that it expects an improvement in the current quarter.
Earlier Friday, a separate survey showed a significant rise in German consumer confidence as people's expectations for the economy and for their own income improve.
Content enhanced with OpenCalais.