Irrespective of the ongoing trade conflict with the US, sentiment among small and medium-sized enterprises has improved for the third month in a row. After rising strongly in March and moderately in April, business sentiment has now improved noticeably again in May. The rule of thumb is that this marks the start of an upward trend reversal. Business situation assessments and, to a slightly larger extent, expectations both contributed to the most recent improvement. Furthermore, the recovery in sentiment was driven by all five main economic sectors.

KfW-ifo SME Barometer May 2025(PDF, 162 KB, accessible)