FRANKFURT: German business confidence fell just slightly in October, reflecting the resilience of Europe’s biggest economy in the face of numerous challenges, including the Volkswagen scandal, the Ifo economic institute said on Monday.

The Ifo institute’s closely-watched business climate index slipped to 108.2 points in October from 108.5 points in September, Ifo said in a statement, a much shallower drop than analysts had expected.

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