French Manufacturing Confidence Rises To 97

(RTTNews) - The confidence among French manufacturers rebounded somewhat in February on the back of an improvement in personal production prospects and signs of order book recovery, monthly data from the statistical office INSEE revealed Friday.

The manufacturing sentiment index rose slightly to 97 in February from 96.0 in January. However, the index remained below its long-term average of 100. Meanwhile, the score was expected to remain stable at 96.0.

The index measuring personal production expectations improved for the second straight month and rose to 6 in February from 1.0 in the previous month. Meanwhile, producers' past production situation worsened to -3.0 from 0 in January.

Data showed that the index measuring overall order books increased somewhat to -24 from -26, while general production expectations remained negative and stable at -15 in February.

The sub-index for the expected trend in selling prices in the next three months decreased to 6.0 in February from 9.0 in the previous month.

The overall business confidence index, which comprises the responses of business leaders from sectors such as manufacturing, construction, services, retail trade, and wholesale trade, rose further in February, with the measure rising to 96 from 95 in January. At the same time, the employment climate index also declined to 94 from 98.