France: Business confidence erodes in September
In September, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies’ (INSEE) business sentiment index for the manufacturing sector ticked down to 107 points from 110 points a month earlier. Despite notching the weakest reading in a year and a half, the indicator landed above the 100-point long-run average—INSEE’s benchmark measure which distinguishes improvement of the business environment.
September’s reading reflected a nearly broad-based pullback across the index’s components, led by firms’ significantly less optimistic output expectations. Meanwhile, manufacturers’ views on order books remained as equally downbeat as a month earlier.