Ifo World Economic Climate indicator rises for the third quarter in succession

The Ifo World Economic Climate Indicator rose in the fourth quarter of 2009 for the third time in succession. The rise in the indicator is the result of both more favourable expectations for the coming six months as well as less negative assessments of the current economic situation. The recovery of the world economy is driven especially by the dynamic development in Brazil as well as in India, China and other Asian countries. On the whole, the survey results indicate that the world economy is increasingly recovering from the financial and economic crisis. Inflation expectations for 2009 amount to 2.5 percent, on average. This marks little change over the July survey, but in the preceding four surveys a declining inflation trend was evident. This means that for the first time in more than a year, a slightly rising price trend is expected in the course of the next six months. The euro is seen somewhat more frequently as overvalued than in the preceding survey. The other major world currencies - the US-dollar, the Japanese yen and the British pound - are assessed as properly valued.