German Ifo business confidence index hits 2-year low

Business confidence in Germany dropped to the lowest level for more than two years in June as companies grow ever gloomier about the fallout from the debt crisis, data showed on Friday. The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 105.3 points in June from 106.9 points in May. That is slightly steeper than expected: analysts had been pencilling in a decline in the index this month to 105.6 points. It is the second month in a row that the index has fallen and the barometer is now at its lowest level since March 2010. "The recent surge in uncertainty in the eurozone is impacting the German economy," said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn. Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of their current business and the outlook for the next six months, with 100 being the long-term average. And while the sub-index measuring current business edged up to 113.9 points in June from 113.2 points in May, the outlook sub-index tumbled to 97.3 points from 100.8 points, its lowest level since October 2011.