Construction (Germany):
More favourable outlook

In construction the business climate brightened somewhat. The firms evaluated their present situation a little more favourably and the expectations of further business development are less sceptical than in the previous month. The dissatisfaction with order stocks abated somewhat. In assessing economic activity in construction, weather-related factors must be considered: this winter considerably more survey participants complain about weather-conditioned constraints than in the two preceding years. However, the number of current complaints is in line with complaints for an "average" winter. In the two previous years, weather-related constraints were unusually small. Especially the firms in civil engineering are hopeful and anticipate a more favourable business development in the coming half year. They are less dissatisfied with their order stocks and expect increasing building activity in the months to come.