A closely watched survey has shown that business confidence in Germany fell to the lowest level for four months in June.
The business climate index, calculated each month by the Munich-based economic research institute Ifo, fell to 107 points from 108.6 points in May, the lowest reading since February.
The decline was sharper than expected, as analysts had expected a slight drop.
'The surveyed firms have assessed the current situation slightly less favourably than in May and also regard the outlook for the coming six months somewhat less optimistically,' said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn.
But he added that both parts of the index were still at a high level, pointing to robust economic activity. For its monthly survey, Ifo polls about 7,000 companies about their assessment of current business and their expectations for the next six months.
A breakdown of the data showed that the current sentiment sub-index slipped to 111.4 points in June from 112.5 in May. The expectations sub-index also decreased, falling to 102.8 from 104.8.
