O'Neill of Goldman Sachs Says German Domestic Demand May Supplant Exports
Goldman Sachs Group Chief Global Economist Jim O’Neill
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Chief Global Economist Jim O’Neill, seen here, said, “What is coming through more and more is evidence of improving domestic demand.”
Goldman Sachs Group Chief Global Economist Jim O’Neill, seen here, said, “What is coming through more and more is evidence of improving domestic demand.” Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Jim O'Neill, chief global economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., talks about Germany's business confidence and economic outlook. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 106.7 this month from 106.2 in July. O'Neill talks with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack." (This is an excerpt of the full interview. Source: Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Global Economist Jim O’Neill said German domestic demand may overtake exports as the drivers of growth in Europe’s largest economy.
“Germany may be entering a period of self-sustaining domestic demand growth,” O’Neill said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack” with Deirdre Bolton today. “If that were true it would be of major importance for the rest of Europe.”
Over the past decade exports have been the mainstay of German economic growth and foreign demand has helped pull the country out of the worst recession since World War II. German business confidence today unexpectedly rose to a three-year high, driven by a jump in retailer sentiment.
“What is coming through more and more is evidence of improving domestic demand,” O’Neill said. “It’s been such a long time since the German consumer has been spending. If it were for real, it’s going to turn out to be major.”
O’Neill said the Ifo report is “a pretty good leading indicator of Europe.”
The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 106.7 from 106.2 in July. That’s the highest level since June 2007. Economists expected a drop to 105.7, according to the median of 36 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.
To contact the reporters on this story: Deirdre Bolton in New York at dbolton@bloomberg.net; Mark Deen in Paris at markdeen@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page