German business confidence sinks again after GDP setback

BERLIN – A closely watched survey is showing a slightly bigger-than-expected decline in German business confidence after the economy shrank in the third quarter.

The Ifo institute said Monday its confidence index fell to 102 points for November from 102.9 in October. Economists had expected a decline to 102.3 points.

Managers’ view of both their current situation and their prospects for the next six months darkened. It was the third successive monthly decline in the index.

Official data released Nov. 14 showed that gross domestic product declined 0.2 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous three-month period, due in part to bottlenecks in getting new cars certified under tougher emissions standards.

Ifo said its survey and other indicators “point to 0.3 per cent economic growth in the fourth quarter at most.”