German business confidence stabilises in November

[FRANKFURT] Business confidence in Germany appears to be stabilising after long months of decline, with the Ifo business climate index rising in November for the first time since April, data showed on Monday.

The closely watched barometer rose to 104.7 points in November from 103.2 points in October, the Ifo think-tank said in a statement.

"The downturn in the German economy has ground to a halt for the moment at least," Ifo chief Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement.

Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of current business and the outlook for the next six months.

"Assessments of the current business situation are slightly more favourable than last month," Mr Sinn said.

"Expectations with regard to the months ahead are also brighter." The sub-index measuring current business rose to 110.0 points from 108.4 points last month, while the outlook sub-index increased by 1.4 points to 99.7 points.

AFP