German economist calls for ECB interest rate cut

German's Ifo Research Institute chief economist Gernot Nerb today called on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates, saying such a move "will be a good thing", amidst the latest decline in Germany's business climate index.

Earlier today, the Ifo said the German business climate index deteriorated again to 95.4 in March from 96.4 in February.

The institute polls around 7,000 companies about their assessment of current business. Analysts had been expecting the index to decline by only 0.4 point in March from February.

Ifo also polls companies about their expectations for the next six months.

Companies appeared to be a lot less confident about the longer term outlook, with the expectations sub-index dipping to 98.9 points this month from 100.3 points in February.