BERLIN (AP) — German business confidence has picked up slightly after a five-month decline, but managers are more pessimistic about their outlook for the next half-year.

The Ifo institute said Tuesday that its monthly confidence index edged up to 94.6 points in September from 94.3 in August.

That was marginally better than economists' forecast of a rise to 94.5 and due entirely to managers' brighter assessment of their current situation. Their expectations for the next six months unexpectedly worsened.

The survey is based on responses from some 9,000 firms in Germany, Europe's biggest economy.

The economy contracted slightly in the April-June period and is considered likely to shrink again in the current quarter, putting it in a technical recession.