German business confidence falls in December

The main building of the Ifo institute in Munich. Address: Poschinger Straße 5. (Photo By Carl Steinbeißer – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

BERLIN — A closely watched survey shows German business confidence is down in December, from a record high a month earlier.

The Munich-based Ifo Institute said Tuesday its business climate indicator fell to 117.2 points from 117.6 points in November.

The ebb in optimism was due to waning euphoria among company managers about the overall economy rather than a worsening of businesses’ own prospects.

Companies assessed their current situation as better, at 125.4 points in December compared with 124.5 points the previous month.

Expectations for the next six months fell to 109.5 points from 111 points in November.

The index is based on about 7,000 survey responses from firms in manufacturing, construction, wholesaling and retailing.