German chemical exports are expected to fall

Recently, Germany's Ifo Institute for economic research (Ifo) said that German chemical companies are once again pessimistic about the outlook for exports. The overall Ifo index of export expectations fell to 3.8 points in February, down from 4.1 points in January.

In response, Ifo said: "Once again, the German chemical industry finds itself disillusioned. After an upbeat start to the year, German chemicals companies now expect their export business to stabilise rather than grow. The same applies to German food and drink manufacturers. In the metals industry, there has been a marked decline in scepticism; However, there are no signs of an upturn in international sales." According to Ifo, export expectations for other petrochemical downstream sectors such as cars, machinery equipment and furniture improved in February, but Ifo president Clemens Fust concluded: "Overall, weak global demand is still dampening hopes for German exports for now."

The Ifo export forecast is based on about 2,300 monthly reports from manufacturers. Companies were asked to report their expectations for exports over the next three months, which they could describe as "increasing", "unchanged" or "decreasing".