OREANDA-NEWS. Among representatives of the German business community, an optimistic assessment of the country's economic development prospects is growing. The indicator of the barometer of business sentiment in March rose to 30.4 points, the Institute for Economic Research (ifo) in Munich reported on Friday, April 9. A month earlier, it was 21.5 points.

The current value of the indicator is the highest since 1991. And just a few months earlier, the index of business sentiment reached the lowest value in the history of a united Germany. Enterprises are filling their order portfolios, but the lost time during the crisis year has yet to be made up, said ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe. In particular, the automotive and electrical industries intend to significantly expand production, he added. Thus, the index of business sentiment in the automotive industry increased from 36 to 46 points, and in the electrical industry — from 32 to 44 points.

Companies from almost all industries intend to expand production, according to the ifo data. The indicator of the barometer in mechanical engineering increased from 21 to 38 points, in the sphere of production and processing of metals — from 20 to 36 points, and in the leather industry — from minus 34 to 21 points. At the same time, the mood in the chemical industry and the production of food and feed remained virtually unchanged (19 and 12 points, respectively).