French Manufacturers' Sentiment Falls Slightly In March
28 Marzo 2023 - 10:57AM
RTTF2
Despite the ongoing pension reform strikes, French
manufacturers' confidence weakened only slightly in March to mark
the first fall in four months as their view about past and future
production deteriorated, survey data from the statistical office
Insee revealed Tuesday.
The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 104 in March from
105 in the previous month. The reading was forecast to fall to 103
from February's originally estimated value of 104. The score
remained above the long-run average of 100.
The sub-index measuring manufacturers' views towards past
production weakened to 10 in March from 16 in February, while the
overall order book balance rose somewhat to -12 from -14.
General production expectations deteriorated to a negative level
in March with the corresponding index falling to -1 from 0.
The index reflecting the personal production expectations of
manufacturers declined to 11 from a stable score of 14.
The finished-goods inventory balance also worsened at the end of
the first quarter with the corresponding index falling by 5 points
to 13.
The index for the expected trend in selling prices in the next
three months remained stable though at a high level in March. The
relevant index stood at 29.
Business managers' concerns about economic conditions tightened
after easing a month ago with the corresponding index rising to 34
from 32.
The overall business confidence index that comprises the
responses of business leaders from sectors namely manufacturing,
construction, services, retail trade, and wholesale trade, also
worsened slightly from 104 to 103 in March.
The business climate has deteriorated a bit in most activity
sectors except in wholesale trade, the survey said. The survey in
wholesale trade is conducted bimonthly.
The latest survey confirmed that activity in France is resilient
even if the outlook for the coming quarters remains moderate, ING
economist Charlotte de Montpellier said.
The impact of global slowdown on exports, high inflationary
pressure, tight monetary policy and the recent banking sector
turbulence will have negative impact on the economic activity, the
economist noted.
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