German business confidence rose for the fourth consecutive month in February, climbing to 111.3 points from 110.6 points in January, the Ifo institute in Frankfurt announced Monday.

The institute's closely-watched barometer, which is based on responses from about 7,000 German business leaders, beat the expectations of economists polled by news agency Reuters. They had predicted a stable index reading at best.

Noting that the German economy was holding its own in a changeable global climate, Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said business leaders were optimistic but not euphoric.

Ifo's sub-index measuring current business rose to 114.4 points in February from 112.4 points in January. The forward-looking index for the medium term, however, slipped slightly to 108.3 points from 108.9 points in the previous months. This was primarily due to a small decline in export expectations, Ifo said.

Although exports remain a strong pillar of German economic development in 2014, economists expect domestic consumption and investment to play a stronger role for growth in gross domestic product (GDP). In line with the experts' predictions, the the German government is anticipating a GDP rise of 1.8 percent this year, significantly up from just meager growth of 0.4 percent in 2013.

uhe/pfd (AFP, Reuters, dpa)