Business confidence remains weak in Nov

There was a slight increase in confidence in services in November 2023 but retail trade saw the biggest dip while confidence in manufacturing remained unchanged, according to the Business Confidence Indicators of November published by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) on Monday.

In manufacturing, the balance reading measuring confidence was minus 21 in November.

Confidence remained at the previous month’s level. The confidence is still clearly below its long-term average, which is +1.

Production is expected to decrease in the coming months and order backlogs have remained thin.

Inventories of finished products have increased and are still clearly above normal levels. Only 50% of companies are fully utilised at capacity, which is slightly lower than last month.

In October, industrial confidence in Finland was the second weakest among EU countries.

In November, the balance figure describing confidence in construction fell to minus 43. The balance figure was two points lower than in October. The long-term average is minus 7.

The order backlog improved slightly from the previous month, but is still clearly below the level considered normal.

Expectations regarding the number of employees in the construction sector have continued to weaken.

Among EU countries, confidence in construction was weakest in Finland in October.

Confidence in services increased in November. The balance figure measuring confidence was minus 6, which is one point more than in October. The long-term average for the service sector indicator is +12.

The economic outlook has remained negative in recent months. Despite the weak economic outlook, sales have grown very moderately compared to previous months. Sales expectations are also still cautiously positive.

In Finland, confidence in services was clearly below the EU average in October.

In retail trade, confidence fell to minus 16 in November, which is five points less than in October. The long-term average is minus 1.

In retail trade, sales have decreased compared to previous months. Sales expectations for the coming months have fallen sharply.

Inventories contracted slightly from the previous month. Retail trade confidence was weaker in October than the EU average.