BERLIN, March 22 Reuters German business morale improved in March and beat expectations, a survey showed on Friday, though probably not enough to prevent Europe39;s biggest economy from slipping into another recession.

The Ifo institute said its business climate index stood at 87.8 compared with a reading of 86.0 forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The German economy glimpses light on the horizon, said Ifo president Clemens Fuest.

Companies39; expectations turned much less pessimistic in March and assessments of the current business situation also improved, the survey showed.

The strong gain in the Ifo business climate gives us hope, said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank.

He said the dampening effect of massive increases in interest rates and energy prices is beginning to fade.

However, an end to the recession in the summer halfyear should not be confused with a genuine upturn, Kraemer warned.

Germany is broadly expected to enter another technical recession in the first quarter of this year, after its economy shrank by 0.3 in the final quarter of last year.

Germany39;s economic downturn eased slightly in March as business activity in the countrys service sector came close to stabilising, the HCOB German Flash Composite Purchasing Managers39; IndexPMI, compiled by SP Global, showed on Thursday.

We think the pickup in March is the beginning of a more sustained rise in both surveys, said Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon…