Majority of Economic Outlooks Remain Sceptical

The current situation index lost 0.4 points in November but remained positive at 7.4 points. In the manufacturing sector, which is particularly sensitive to economic developments, the situation index lost 2.0 points compared to the previous month and remained just in positive territory at 3.8 points. In the construction industry, the situation index lost 5.7 points, but remained well above the zero line at 17.9 points. In the service sectors, the index gained 1.1 points compared to the previous month and stood above the zero line with a value of 10.1 points. In the retail sector, the situation index rose by 2.1 points, but remained in the range of sceptical economic assessments at –6.1 points.

The index of business expectations rose in November (+2.6 points), but at 0.5 points was only just above the zero line separating negative from positive economic expectations. In the retail sector, the expectations index remained almost unchanged (+0.1 points) and was still clearly in negative territory at –19.9 points. In the service sectors the expectations index rose by 3.8 points and was again above the zero line at 2.6 points. In the construction industry, on the other hand, the expectations index fell by 0.9 points, but remained at an optimistic 35.0 points. This high value is due to the continuing high expectations for construction prices. The business situation expectations in the construction industry have already been in negative territory since May. In the manufacturing sector, which was particularly affected by the rise in energy prices, the expectations index rose slightly (+2.4 points). However, at –7.6 points, it was still noticeably in the pessimistic range.