- Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group
German business confidence fell to the lowest level in more than two and a half years in September amid deepening concerns over Eurozone's debt crisis, the German research institute, Ifo reported Monday. Business Climate Index fell by 0.9 point to a seasonally adjusted 101.4 in September, down from 102.3 in August. The index was expected to rise by 0.2 points to 102.5.
"Today's Ifo index shows that German companies remain skeptical about the economic impact of Mario Draghi's magic," said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group in Brussels.
"Despite fears of a looming euro-zone breakup clearly fading away, German businesses are downscaling their expectations. The structural adjustments in Germany's euro-zone trading partners will take time and will dampen demand for German products."
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased 0.39 per cent to 274.70. Germany's DAX Index lost 0.52 per cent to 7,413.16, while France's CAC 40 Index retreated 0.95 per cent to 3,497.22.
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