Germany's Ifo business confidence indicator fell to the lowest level for nearly two years in October, data showed on Monday, as the outlook for Europe's biggest economy continues to cloud over.
The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 103.2 points in October from 104.7 points in September, the think-tank said in a statement.
That is the lowest level since December 2012.
Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of current business and the outlook for the next six months.
"Assessments of the current business situation were once again less favourable than last month," said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn.
"Expectations with regard to the six-month business outlook continued to cloud over. The outlook for the German economy deteriorated once again." Sinn said.
The sub-index measuring current business fell by two full points to 108.4 points, while the outlook sub-index fell by one points to 98.3 points.