FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- German business confidence peaked by 0.2 points in January, suggesting the eurozone outlook may be stronger than anticipated, the Financial Times reported.
Germany's business climate increased to 96.4 points in January, higher than December's figure of 96.2 points, making it the highest reading since February 2003, according to the Munich-based Ifo Institute.
"The slight improvement in the business climate in January was the result of more optimistic business expectations for the next six months. The assessment of the current situation, however, was slightly weaker than in December," said Hans-Werner Sinn, Ifo's president.
Some economists expected January's business climate would either plateau or be slightly less than December figure.
"The January figures suggest that the economy has gained some momentum at the turn of the year after a sluggish second half of last year, " Dirk Schumacher, economist at Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt, told the Financial Times.
