Manufacturing: Business Climate Cools Down

The business climate in manufacturing continued to cool down. The manufacturers surveyed not only assessed their current business situation less positively, but also expressed greater caution about their business outlook for the months ahead. Foreign markets, by contrast, were expected to provide new impetus more frequently. Although more survey participants reported an increase in demand again, they were slightly less satisfied with their order backlogs. Inventory surpluses rose for the sixth month in a row, but remained below the long-term average. In line with these developments, production plans were again less expansionary. Retailers reported no plans to ramp up recruitment.