The recently released IFO survey indicates that Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has continued to weaken after entering a technical recession in the second half of 2023. The headline measure sank in February, with businesses reporting worsening in both current conditions and expectations in relation to future sales. At face value, this implies that the economy has continued to contract throughout the first quarter, albeit at a slower rate than was seen in the second half of 2023. Some of the headwinds the German economy faced last year have abated. Headline inflation dropped from 8.7% in January 2023 to 2.9% in