German business confidence drops sharply on war worries

BERLIN (AP) — A survey shows that German business confidence has dropped sharply as company managers’ outlook for the coming months darkens following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ifo institute said Friday that its monthly confidence index, a closely watched indicator in Europe’s biggest economy, fell to 90.8 points in March from 98.5 in February. It says sentiment “collapsed.” Company managers’ assessment of their current situation was slightly worse than in February, but their view of the outlook for the next six months is far worse. The index’s expectations component fell by a record amount, even more sharply than it did when the coronavirus pandemic hit Germany in March 2020.