France: Business confidence edges up in August
In August, the French Statistical Institute’s (INSEE) business climate indicator for the manufacturing sector rose by 1 point to 102 points. The indicator thus edged further above the 100-point threshold, signaling that the sentiment in French manufacturing remained somewhat resilient to the wave of pessimism sweeping the sector in neighboring Germany.
August’s uptick largely reflected improved production expectations as well as businesses turning less pessimistic on both overall and export order books. Furthermore, pessimism over employment prospects softened in the same month. That said, the perception of past activity weakened and projections for inventories of finished-goods moderated, curbing gains in overall sentiment in August.