The sentiment of the German chemical industry saw a modest improvement in January. The Ifo Chemical Industry Index climbed to -23.5 points, up from -24.6 in December. At the same time, the current‑condition indicator fell to -34.9 points, a deterioration from -29.7 the previous month, while expectations moved to a more optimistic -11.4 points from -19.3.
“Iff the chemical sector is looking slightly less pessimistically at the future, but current business remains weak” noted Ifo industry expert Anna Wolf.
Although crisis sentiment lingered into the end of 2025, demand in January began to stabilise slightly. For the first time in months, the order book widened. The related indicator rose from -23.7 to +3.4 points. Order books cover 1.8 months of production, up from 1.4 months in October. Despite these encouraging signs, companies still rate the overall order book at -47.1, signalling a very low outlook.
Capacity utilisation in the chemical sector stands at 72.7 %-well below the ten‑year average of 80.9 %. Companies plan to scale back production in the coming months and further reduce staff. “Ongoing price pressure and uncertainties in foreign trade due to looming tariffs weigh heavily on the industry” Wolf added.