2021.06.2407:38:00UTC+00French Manufacturers' Confidence Remains Stable In June

French manufacturers' confidence remained unchanged in June, monthly survey results from the statistical office Insee showed on Thursday.

The manufacturing confidence index held steady at 107 in June, while the score was forecast to climb to 109. This was the joint-highest score since August 2018.

The balances on the order books increased slightly by one point to -9. At the same time, the balance on foreign order books, which has been rising steadily since November 2020, advanced to -15 from -18.

Manufacturers remained optimistic about their own production prospects but the indicator dropped marginally to 18 in June from 19 a month ago. Meanwhile, the index for general production expectations rose to 27 from 19.

However, the manufacturers' judgment about their past activity was less favorable. The corresponding index slid to 16 from 20.

Furthermore, at 30 points, the balance on the expected trend in selling prices reached its highest level since the beginning of the series.

Regarding employment, the business managers' perception of the development in their workforce size remained favorable. The indicator for expected workforce size improved to +1 from -1 in the previous month.

The overall business confidence index that comprises the responses of business leaders from sectors namely, manufacturing, construction, services, retail trade and wholesale trade, improved in June.

The business sentiment index advanced to 113 in June, the highest level since mid-2007, from 108 in May.