German business confidence slipped slightly in August, after improving sharply the previous month, as surging oil prices made companies more sceptical about the economic outlook over the next six months, according to the Ifo economic research institute.
The Ifo's business climate index slipped to 95.3 points in August from 95.6 points in July. But the decline was not as sharp as feared - analysts had been expecting the index to show a steeper fall to around 95 points this month.
Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said that the findings of its latest survey 'show that economic recovery in Germany is still not on a broad and secure footing.'
For its monthly survey, Ifo polls around 7,000 companies about their assessment of current business and their expectations for the next six months.
A breakdown of the data showed that while companies were feeling better about their current situation, their business expectations for the coming months had deteriorated.
The current sentiment sub-index rose to 94.7 points in August from 94.1 in July. But the expectations sub-index declined, sliding to 96 points from 97.1.
