Bank of France’s business sentiment survey shows rebound in industrial sector in December

The recent economic sentiment indicators of France have been quite subdued, with the composite PMI coming in the contraction territory and consumer sentiment falling in December. Nevertheless, the Bank of France’s business confidence survey for December, which was released today, indicated towards an improvement in the industrial sector towards year-end, with the respective index rising 2 points to a three-month high of 103 in December.

That tallies with expectations of a recovery in output last month after the steep fall in November. However, while today’s survey implied that new orders in the sector rebounded too, it also indicated towards softer output in January. The Bank of France report also implied that services sector sentiment continued to be strong, with the respective index unchanged at 102 for a sixed straight month, in spite of softness in hospitality no doubt related to the Gilets Janues unrest. The construction companies were reportedly still positive, with the respective index stable at 105 in line with its average in 2018.

“Overall, therefore, the Bank of France judged that its survey was consistent with French GDP growth in Q4 of 0.2 percent Q/Q - bang in line with our own forecast”, said Daiwa Capital Market Research in a report. 

At 18:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Euro was neutral at -26.2276, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -41.0063. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex