German business morale falls for third month running

German business morale fell for the third month running in February to reach its lowest level in more than a year, driven by a sharp drop in expectations among manufacturing firms.

The Munich-based Ifo economic institute’s business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, fell to 105.7 from 107.3 in January. This was the lowest level since December 2014.

The reading compared with the Reuters consensus forecast of 106.7.

The drop was driven by a sharp decline in business expectations among manufacturers, whose exports have suffered from weakness in emerging markets.