German Ifo business confidence beats expectations, unexpectedly rises to 111.0 in February

A survey by the Munich-based Ifo economic institute showed on Wednesday that Germany's business morale brightened unexpectedly in February. Data released earlier today showed business climate index rose to 111.0 from a upwardly revised reading of 109.9 in January, widely above consensus forecast for a value of 109.6.

"After making a cautious start to the year, the German economy is back on track," Ifo chief Clemens Fuest said in a statement.

The expectations index edged up to 104.0 in February from 103.2 in the month before, surpassing expectations of 103.0. Also, the current assessment index jumped to 118.4 from 116.9, comfortably beating estimates of 116.7 and marking the highest level since August 2011.

The details, however, were slightly less upbeat. The construction index slipped to a five-month low, but continues to indicate strong Q1 performance in construction capex. The retail index also edged lower. Elsewhere, the manufacturing jumped, in line with the PMI, pointing to strong activity in this industry.