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FR: Business Climate Indicator
| Actual | Previous | |
| Index | 99 | 102 |
Highlights
The INSEE survey's measure of business confidence in the French manufacturing sector fell from 102 in February to 99 in March. This decline in the headline number reflects weaker outcomes for several key components, including past production, personal and general production prospects, and order books. This was partly offset by an improvement in expected selling prices with perceived economic uncertainty remaining steady.
The measure of service sector sentiment was unchanged at 96, while the construction sector measure rose from 96 to 97. The overall business climate indicator for all sectors was unchanged at 97 in March.
Definition
INSEE is France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. INSEE's business climate indicator aims to summarise the mood of French business leaders. The survey asks questions about output, orders and inventories and expectations for future business. These are synthesised into an overall index of sentiment, adjusted so that the long-run average is 100. The main focus is the manufacturing sector but the survey also provides separate confidence measures for construction, retail trade and services on a monthly basis and for wholesale trade every other month.
Description
If you are looking for clues on French business sentiment, this survey would be a good starting point. The indicator is based on a survey that asks business leaders about their expectations for new orders and their overall impressions of the economy. The results are a diffusion index that reflects the difference between positive and negative responses as a percentage of the total number of answers.