BERLIN (Reuters) – German business morale crashed in April in its most dramatic fall on record and hit its lowest reading ever as the coronavirus crisis strikes Europe’s largest economy “with full fury”, a survey showed on Friday.
The Ifo institute said its April survey showed that its business climate index slumped to 74.3 from a downwardly revised 85.9 in March. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a fall to 80.0.
“Sentiment at German companies is catastrophic,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said in a statement. “The coronavirus crisis is striking the German economy with full fury.”
(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin)
