Decline in industrial expectations in November
Business expectations deteriorated in November, mainly due to the further decline in output forecasts, according to the monthly survey of Greek industry published on Monday by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).
The reading of the Business Expectations Index in Industry declined last month to 97.9 points, from 98.9 points in October and 98.7 points in November 2017, with 100 points being the watershed between optimism and pessimism.
IOBE noted that the international environment, which affects export-orientated enterprises in the industrial sector, retains a degree of uncertainty. Furthermore the economy of the eurozone – that is the main destination of Greek exports – showed a considerable slowdown in its growth to 1.6 percent in the third quarter of the year, from 2.2 percent in the previous quarter and 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2017.
Two of the main parameters of the expectations index, the negative balance in estimates on orders and demand and the index on stock estimates, have remained unchanged compared to the previous month, while the balance of forecasts concerning output in the next few months is deteriorating.
