Denmark: Business sentiment deteriorates in September

According to a survey conducted by Statistics Denmark, business confidence among firms in the industrial sector deteriorated in September. The seasonally adjusted confidence indicator fell to minus 1 point in September from plus 5 points in August, moving below the zero-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism in the sector for the first time since March.

The downturn in business sentiment was primarily due to firms’ more downbeat perspective on order books, while their outlook on future production was less optimistic. Meanwhile, inventory levels rose notably in September, pointing to weaker demand.

Regarding the other sectors of the economy, confidence improved in the retail sector and it was stable in the service sector. Confidence in the construction sector remained neutral as in August.

Denmark Fixed Investment Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect gross fixed investment to increase 6.4% in 2018 and 3.3% in 2019, which is up 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast.