France: Economic sentiment picks up in September
Economic sentiment came in at 95.9 in September, up from August’s 93.2. Consequently, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected healthier sentiment in the industrial sector and in the construction sector. Moreover, confidence in the services sector strengthened in September. Nonetheless, sentiment in the retail sector weakened in the surveyed month. Lastly, consumer confidence cooled in September.
Referring to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations improved, while the economic uncertainty index improved in September.