German business confidence picks up after plunging on war

BERLIN (AP) — A survey shows that German business confidence has picked up slightly this month after plunging in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ifo institute said Monday that its monthly confidence index, a closely watched indicator for Europe’s biggest economy, rose to 91.8 points in April from 90.8 in March. That has stabilized after a nearly eight-point fall last month. Business managers’ outlook for the next six months improved, but their assessment of the current situation was only marginally better than in March. The survey is based on monthly responses from about 9,000 businesses in various sectors.