FR Business Climate Eases After Recovery

OCT BUS CLIM INDICATOR 90; SEP 92

OCT MFG SENTIMENT 93; SEP 94

OCT SERVICES SENTIMENT 89; SEP 94

• Business climate slipped 2 points to 90 in Oct, following five consecutive monthly gains and falling short of market expectations of an unchanged reading.
• The indicator remains well below the long-term avg (100) and the pre-crisis level.
• Oct's decline was mainly driven by the service sector, particularly by accommodation and catering which is hit hard by the renewed social distancing measures.
• Service sentiment dropped 5pt to 89 in Oct from a downwardly revised figure for Sep (-1pt to 94).
• Manufacturing sentiment eased 1pt to 93 after Sep's reading of 94, which was revised down 2pt.
• The increase in Covid-19 cases also led do a deterioration of the employment climate by 3pt to 89 following the continuous recovery since May.