BERLIN, Nov 25 - Following are economists' reactions to the West German Ifo business climate index which rose to 95.7 points in November from an upwardly revised 94.3 in October. Analysts had predicted a rise to 95 points. Latest comments:
JAN-PAUL RITSCHER, HSH NORDBANK: "It was already becoming apparent in the previous months that the current conditions index would improve. But it surprises me a bit that expectations have improved once again, because firm reasons for that are lacking. There is still a high level of political uncertainty in Germany and we have a strong euro. But the index is certainly a positive surprise. The stabilisation of the economy is continuing. I am confident that we are now entering a recovery in Germany."
THOMAS AMEND, HSBC TRINKAUS & BURCKHARDT: "It's a positive number, we had expected a smaller rise. It's significant that both the business condistions and expectations components have risen. The conditions component has now risen for the second month in a row. "It boosts hopes for a recovery but we still expect the upturn to be moderate. The EU finance ministers' decision on the Stability and Growth Pact means the sanctions procedure has effectively been suspended. "In the medium term this could burden the euro which would be positive for export-oriented firms. We'll have to see next month how the decision affects corporate sentiment."//