Producer confidence drops back further

Producer confidence fell slightly in June. The confidence indicator stood at 2.0, as against 3.1 in May. June was the third month in a row, in which the mood among manufacturers deteriorated. With an index score of 5.8, producer confidence in March had reached the highest level in three years.

Producer confidence consists of three component indicators: manufacturers’ opinions on their stocks of finished products, the expected output over the next three months and manufacturers’ opinions on their order positions.

Opinions on stocks of finished products deteriorated in June. Manufacturers were also less optimistic about their expected output over the next three months than in May, but their opinions on their order positions improved.

Fewer manufacturers than in May expected an increase in selling prices during the next three months. Expectations about future employment improved in June. The number of manufacturers expecting employment in their branch to increase was marginally higher than the number anticipating employment to decline.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry

More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.