German business sentiment drops to lowest in almost two years

Frankfurt

GERMAN business confidence dropped for a sixth month as the spectre of a recession haunts Europe's largest economy.

The Ifo institute's business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 103.2 in October from 104.7 in September. That's the lowest since December 2012. Economists predicted a decline to 104.5, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

The German economy, which helped the euro area emerge from its longest-ever slump last year, contra…