- Economic confidence 93.5 vs 92.8 expected
- Prior 93.0; revised to 93.2
The indicator continues to score below its long-term average of 100, as headwinds from the Middle East conflict continue to linger. Looking at the details, industrial confidence (-8.0) dipped further on the month as the bounce was mostly helped by a minor rebound in services confidence (2.2) this time around. The latter comes after a rather steep decline in April, one that was also mirrored in consumer confidence.
The graph below reflects the breakdown:
Besides that, retail trade confidence and construction confidence also worsened on the month. And that continues to reflect the pain that is being exerted from higher prices and supply chain issues as a result of the Middle East conflict.
The only other bit of good news is that the employment indicator showed a minor pick up (+2.1) but again also continues to hold well below its long-term average. The improvement was largely driven by enhanced employment plans reported by managers in
the services and retail trade sectors, which were only marginally offset by a slight decline reported in
construction.
Meanwhile, selling price expectations cooled slightly (down to 27.4 from 30.2 previously) but remain well above levels seen in the past two years. That as inflation risks continue to become more embedded into the economy and pose a threat to the overall outlook. The graph for that:
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
