(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 4 mag - In April, the business climate in the German automotive industry deteriorated to -23.8 points, from a seasonally adjusted -19.0 points in March, according to a survey released by the Ifo think tank.

Although companies assessed their current business situation as better than in the previous month, they are considerably more pessimistic about the coming months.

Business expectations fell to -30.7 points from -15.3 points in March.

'The Iran crisis is placing an additional strain on the already weakened automotive industry,' said Ifo industry expert Anita Woelfl.

Initial signs of material shortage are becoming apparent in the automotive industry. In April, 9.3% of companies were lacking key intermediate products, in March, the figure was just under 1%.

'The Iran crisis is affecting the production and supply of helium, for example, an inert gas that is important both directly and indirectly for automotive production,' Woelfl noted.

Helium is used, for example, in chip production, for airbags, in metalworking, and to detect leaks in batteries. According to the German Mineral Resources Agency, the EU sources a significant share, about 40%, of the helium it needs from Qatar; alternative import sources are scarce.

Added to that are indirect effects of the Iran crisis, which are reflected in lower business expectations: General uncertainty among companies and households is growing.

Combined with the high energy prices, this could lead to a.

reluctance to buy new cars, Ifo said.

(RADIOCOR) 04-05-26 11:33:10 (0220) 5 NNNN