Manufacturing: Business Outlook Clouds Over

The business climate indicator fell markedly in manufacturing. Recent very good assessments of the current business situation were downscaled considerably. Business expectations also deteriorated for the third consecutive month. Although manufacturers continue to expect impulses from international business, the latter are not expected to be as strong as recently. Production plans were slightly less expansively oriented than in recent months due to a downturn in demand. Manufacturers nevertheless plan to recruit additional staff.