Services: diminishing optimism

In the services, for the fourth time in a row, a smaller proportion of polled firms, on balance, look optimistically to business developments in the coming months. Although the current business situation was seen not quite as favorably as recently, the indicator for this survey component continues to be well above the average level. The business climate in the services has now been deteriorating steadily since October 2018. Nevertheless, the companies reported a further increase in sales – both compared to the previous months and to the previous year. Firms assessed orders on hand as relatively large in February, although this was even more so the case in the second half of 2018. Sales expectations for the next three months remain confident and additional staff hirings are planned. A large proportion of the survey participants still see opportunities to raise prices for the services they offer.