German business sentiment improves in February

German business sentiment improved in February despite the Covid-19 lockdown, according to a survey released on Monday by the Ifo Institute.

The business climate index rose to 92.4 from an upwardly-revised 90.3 in January, beating expectations for a reading of 90.5.

The current situation index printed at 90.6 from 89.2, while the expectations gauge ticked up to 94.2 in February from 91.5 the month before.

Ifo said: "The German economy is proving robust despite the lockdown, especially thanks to strength in industry."

Capital Economics said the fact that the bulk of the improvement was in the expectations component suggests that even though the lockdown is currently suppressing activity, there is growing optimism about the future.

"That is presumably because of the decline in coronavirus cases and gradual rollout of the vaccines," said chief Europe economist Andrew Kenningham.