German business sentiment falls further in June

German business morale worsened for the second consecutive month in June, a survey showed on Monday, indicating that Europe's largest economy faces an uphill battle to shake off recession.

The Ifo institute said its business climate index stood at 88.5 following a reading of 91.5 in May. A Reuters poll of analysts had predicted a fall to 90.7 in June. "Sentiment in the German economy has clouded over noticeably," Ifo's president Clemens Fuest said.

Expectations were significantly more pessimistic, falling to 83.6 in June from 88.3 in May. Companies also assessed their current situation more poorly, with the sentiment evaluating current conditions falling to 93.7 from 94.8.