German business confidence eased in May, index shows

German business confidence slipped only fractionally from its current high level in May, as the upturn in Europe's biggest economy continues, the Ifo economic institute said Friday.

The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index eased slightly to 108.5 points this month from 108.6 points in April, the think tank said in a statement.

It was the first time since September that the index has fallen and analysts had been expecting a slightly bigger drop.

But Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn insisted that the development was no cause for concern.

"Companies were once again more satisfied with their current business situation, but expressed slightly less optimism about the months ahead. The German economy remains on track," he said.

Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of the current business environment and the outlook for the next six months.

The sub-index measuring current business rose to 114.3 points, the highest level since June 2014, while the outlook sub-index slipped by 0.4 point to 103.0 points, the institute said.