German companies pessimistic about coming months: Index

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Germany's IFO Business Climate Index fell for the fourth month in a row in October, according to fresh data on Monday.

Stressing that supply problems have posed difficulties for firms, the IFO institute said: "Companies' assessments of their current situation are also less positive."

Due to pandemic measures, including lockdowns and suspensions of production, a shortage of semi-conductors emerged, causing significant manufacturing industry disruptions globally.

The institute noted that the capacity utilization rate in the German manufacturing industry fell in October by 2.1 percentage points to 84.7%.

Companies' expectations are also cloudy for the coming period, it added.

"Businesses are notably less satisfied with their current situation. They are also more pessimistic about the coming months," it underlined.