Business climate unexpectedly worsens in Germany, IFO data shows

The business climate in Germany unexpectedly declined in December, with indicators for both current conditions and future confidence slipping.

The IFO Institute's Business Climate index, which surveys around 9,000 manufacturing, services, trade and construction companies across Germany each month, fell to 86.4 this month from a downwardly revised 87.2 in November.

This was below the consensus forecast of 87.8 and the lowest reading in three months.

The Current Assessment sub-index fell to 88.5 from 89.4, missing expectations of 89.5, while the Expectations indicator slipped to 84.3 from 85.1, under the 85.8 estimate.