German industry foresees slight rise in output in coming months: Ifo

BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial firms which were battered by the coronavirus-induced economic downturn expect production to increase slightly in the coming months, a survey by the Ifo institute showed on Monday.

“The industrial sector – the engine of Germany’s economy – is gradually getting back on track,” Klaus Wohlrabe, who runs surveys at Ifo, said. The Ifo indicator rose to 15.4 points in August from 14.3 points in July.

For the first time in more than a year, engineering firms expect to expand production while carmakers still see output increasing but were not as optimistic as in the previous month.

The Federal Statistics Office is due to publish industrial output data for July at 0600 GMT, with economists polled by Reuters forecasting a 4.7% increase. Data published on Friday showed orders edging up in July.