Finland: Economic sentiment records worst reading since June 2020 in September
Economic sentiment fell to 78.8 in September from August’s 83.8. September’s result marked the worst reading since June 2020. Consequently, the index remained entrenched below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a downbeat near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected languishing sentiment in the industrial sector and weaker sentiment in the construction sector. Moreover, sentiment in the services sector cooled in September, while sentiment in the retail sector weakened in the surveyed month. Lastly, consumer sentiment deteriorated in September.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations weakened, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in September.