By Maria Martinez
Business confidence in Germany worsened slightly in August as companies turned more pessimistic due to rising energy costs and the threat of gas shortages.
The Ifo business-climate index fell to 88.5 points in August from a revised figure of 88.7 points in July, data from the Ifo Institute showed Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to come in at 87.2.
“A bleak mood hangs over the German economy,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said. German companies were somewhat less satisfied with their current business, and the strong pessimism of their outlook for the coming months is virtually unchanged, he said.
The index of the current situation fell to 97.5 in August from 97.7 the prior month, while the gauge assessing companies’ expectations fell to 80.3 from 80.4.
“Uncertainty among the companies remains high, and the German economy as a whole is expected to shrink in the third quarter,” Mr. Fuest said.
The Ifo index is based on a poll of about 9,000 companies in manufacturing, services, trade and construction.
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