Forexpros – German business confidence in July deteriorated to the lowest level since June 2010, amid ongoing concerns over euro zone’s debt crisis, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell by 1.9 points to a seasonally adjusted 103.3 in July from a reading of 105.2 in June, whose figure was revised down from 105.3.
Analysts had expected the index to ease down by 0.5 points to 104.7 in July.
The Current Assessment Index dropped by 2.3 points to 111.6 from 113.9, compared to expectations for a 0.9 point decline to 113.0.
The Business Expectations Index, which measures attitudes toward business prospects over the next six months, fell by 1.6 points to 95.6 from 97.2 in June, below expectations for a reading of 96.7.
The monthly index is based on a survey of around 7,000 German firms in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.
Following the release of the data, the euro remained higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.27% to trade at 1.2095.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed following the report. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.25%, while Germany’s DAX was up 0.1%.
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