German business confidence stuck at lowest since May 2020

BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows that German business confidence is stuck at its lowest level in more than two years as energy worries fuel expectations of a difficult winter. The Ifo institute said Tuesday that its monthly confidence index, a prominent health indicator for Europe’s biggest economy, edged down to 84.3 points in October from 84.4 last month. That’s the lowest level since May 2020, but it was still a better showing than economists’ forecast of a bigger slip to 83.5. Managers’ assessment of their current situation was a bit worse than in September, though their expectations for the next six months brightened slightly.