France: Economic sentiment falls in December
Economic sentiment fell to 95.4 in December from November’s 95.9. As a result, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected weaker sentiment in the construction and services sector. Meanwhile, confidence in the industrial sector was unchanged and sentiment in the retail sector rose in the surveyed month. Lastly, consumer confidence deteriorated in December.
Referring to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations were healthier, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in December.