Investing.com - German business confidence unexpectedly slipped in December, causing some slight concern over the motor of the euro zone economy, industry data showed on Friday.
In a report, the German research institute Ifo said its Business Climate Index dipped to a seasonally adjusted 117.2 this month from a reading of 117.6 in November which was revised from an initial 117.5 Analysts had expected a reading of 117.6.
However, the Current Assessment Index rose to 125.4 in December from 124.5 a month earlier, which was an upward revision from 124.4. The reading beat expectations for a a small uptick to 124.7.
The Business Expectations Index, which measures attitudes toward business prospects over the next six months, decreased to 109.5 this month from the reading of 111.0 in November. That missed estimates for the reading to decline to just 110.7.
The monthly index is based on a survey of around 7,000 German firms in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1808 from around 1.1810 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8823 from 0.8882 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were trading mixed. The benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.07%, Germany's DAX inched up 0.05%, France’s CAC 40 traded down 0.12%, while London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.23%.