"Sand in the wheels of the German economy is hampering recovery" German business morale fell for the fourth month running in October as supply bottlenecks held back factory output in Europe"s largest economy, a survey showed on Monday. The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 97.7 from an upwardly revised 98.9 in September. The reading was the lowest since April and undershot the figure of 97.9 in a Reuters poll. "Supply problems are giving businesses headaches," Ifo President Clemens Fuest said, adding that capacity utilisation in manufacturing was falling. "Sand in the wheels of the German economy is hampering recovery." The government is expected to slash on Wednesday its forecast for economic growth this year, after leading institutes last week cut their joint forecast to 2.4 percent from 3.7 percent. For 2022, the institutes predicted 4.8 percent growth. Separately, German economic growth is likely to slow sharply in the fourth quarter of the year as industry continues to suffer from supply shortages and demand for services wanes, the Bundesbank said in a regular monthly report on Monday. Europe"s biggest economy boomed over the summer but unexpected supply-chain bottlenecks are now holding back its vast car manufacturing sector, while higher energy costs and persistent concerns over the coronavirus pandemic could hit consumer sentiment, economists have said. "Growth is likely to slow significantly in the current quarter," the Bundesbank said, adding that full-year growth is now likely to be "significantly" below its 3.7 percent prediction made in June. "The strong momentum in the service sector is likely to subside considerably," the bank said. "The manufacturing sector is likely to continue to suffer from delivery problems."