German business morale falls again in August

BERLIN, Aug 26 (AFP): German business confidence fell further in August, a closely-watched survey showed Monday, as Europe's biggest economy struggles to emerge from a weak period.

The Ifo institute's confidence barometer, based on a survey of around 9,000 companies, declined to 86.6 points from 87 points in July.

"The sentiment among companies in Germany is on a downward trend," Ifo president Clemens Fuest said following the fourth consecutive fall in the indicator.

"The German economy is increasingly falling into crisis," Fuest said.

Businesses were both less bullish about the current economic environment and more pessimistic about their future prospects, according to the survey.

Confidence among companies in the manufacturing sector in particular "fell considerably".

Businesses in the crucial sector "once again reported declining order backlogs", according to Ifo, with the lull dragging expectations to their lowest point since February.