France: Business confidence hits five-month high in August
Business confidence jumped to 93 in August from July’s 82, marking the best reading since March. Although the index improved for the fourth month straight, it still remained below the 100-threshold, which represents its long-term average.
In terms of demand, manufacturers’ perception of new orders as well as new export orders turned less negative in August, albeit remained entrenched in negative territory. With regards to staffing, employment intentions improved, but still remained pessimistic. Meanwhile, although manufacturers’ personal production expectations lost some ground in August, they remained in positive territory. Moreover, the general production expectations turned less negative compared to the previous month.