France: Business confidence reaches six-month high in May
In May, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies’ (INSEE) business-climate indicator for the manufacturing sector climbed 4 points from a month earlier to land at 104 points—a six-month high. Accordingly, the indicator remained above its 100-point long-run average.
May’s improvement was nearly broad-based across categories but was mainly attributable to firms’ renewed optimism about output prospects over the short-term. That said, anxieties over employment and export orders were essentially unchanged from a month earlier.