Germany's Ifo business confidence index edges up

Germany's Ifo business confidence edged higher again in June, data showed on Monday, as businesses in Europe's top economy become increasingly optimistic about the future The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index rose to 105.9 points in June from 105.7 points in May, the think-tank said in a statement. "Although assessments of the current business situation are slightly less positive, firms are increasingly optimistic with regard to their future business outlook," said Ifo economist Kai Carstensen. "The German economy is continuing to hold its course." Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of their current business and the outlook for the next six months. The sub-index measuring current business slipped to 109.4 points in June from 110.0 points in May. But the outlook sub-index jumped to 102.5 from 101.6 points.