German business confidence climbs

Frankfurt: German business confidence unexpectedly climbed in October to the highest level in three and a half years, suggesting growth may not slow as much as some economists forecast.

The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, rose to 107.6 from 106.8 in September. That’s the highest since May 2007.

Economists had expected a drop to 106.5, according to the median of 38 forecasts in Bloomberg News survey.