Construction (Germany):
More sceptical business expectations

In construction the business climate index fell slightly. The firms assessed their current business situation slightly more negatively than in the previous month. Their business outlook was also seen a bit more unfavourably. Order stocks did not develop as badly as in the previous month; as a result the firms evaluated them less sceptically. Equipment utilisation was similar to that of June and thus a little stronger than in the same month of the previous year. Firms in structural engineering utilised their equipment even more intensely than in June. They also did not appraise their order backlogs as negatively as in the previous year. In residential construction, however, the order situation did not improve much in a year-on-year comparison. With regard to the six-month outlook there was an increase in the sceptical responses.