Investing.com - German business confidence deteriorated to the lowest level in almost two years in October, dampening optimism over the health of the euro zone’s largest economy, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell to a seasonally adjusted 103.2 this month, below forecasts for 104.3 and down from a reading of 104.7 in September.
The Current Assessment Index declined to 108.4 in October, disappointing expectations for a reading of 110.0 and down from 110.5 in September.
The Business Expectations Index, which measures attitudes toward business prospects over the next six months, dropped to 98.3 this month from 99.3 in September, missing forecasts for 98.9.
The monthly index is based on a survey of around 7,000 German firms in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2689 from around 1.2695 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7878 from 0.7882 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.15%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.1%.