Denmark: Business sentiment in the industrial sector improves for third consecutive month in May
Business confidence among firms in the industrial sector inched up to minus 2 points in May from minus 3 points in April, according to a survey conducted by Statistics Denmark, owing to a slight recovery in news orders and lower stocks. This marked the third straight month of businesses growing less pessimistic, although business confidence still remained below the zero-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism in the sector.
Turning to other sectors, sentiment among retailers improved on a surge in revenue expectations. Moreover, the construction sector remained in pessimistic territory on soft order books, while confidence in the service sector ticked down due to a slight fall in current business conditions, but remained fairly optimistic overall.
Looking ahead, the weaker global growth outlook, which could stunt investment and external demand for Danish manufacturing goods, remains the main downside risk to business confidence.