Manufacturing (west):
Business climat cools further

In west German manufacturing the clouding of the business climate was both the result of less positive assessments of the current situation as well as increased scepticism with regard to the six-month outlook. In the opinion of the surveyed firms, their international competitiveness has not improved in the last three months, but moderate optimism was expressed regarding export expectations. Expansive production plans were only registered in the consumer goods sector. Here firms continue to see good opportunities in international markets, especially for automobiles.