Business confidence declining

Confidence in construction returned to a low level after the rise of the previous month.

Confidence in manufacturing weakened slightly

In manufacturing, confidence fell four points in June. The latest balance reading was -16, compared to -12 in the previous month. The CCI is below the long-term average, which is +1.

Production is expected to decrease in the coming months and order backlogs have continued to thin. Inventories of finished products are clearly higher than normal and have increased from the previous month. At the same time, capacity was in full use by only 58% of enterprises, which is four percentage points lower than in May.

In Finland, industrial confidence was still clearly weaker than the EU average in May.

Confidence in construction clearly falling again

In June, the balance figure describing confidence in construction fell to -26. The balance figure was -17 points lower than in May, when the balance figure was -9. The long-term average is -7.

The order backlog decreased clearly from the previous month and is even more clearly below the level considered normal. Expectations regarding the number of employees in the construction sector have deteriorated further.

In May, confidence in construction in Finland was clearly weaker than the average for EU countries.

Trust in services unchanged

Confidence in services remained zero in the balance figure in June. The long-term average for the service sector indicator is +12.

The economic outlook has remained negative in recent months. Despite the economic outlook, sales have increased compared to previous months, but the pace has slowed down slightly. Sales expectations are also positive.

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

Retail trade confidence in slight decline

In retail trade, confidence fell to -10 in June. The balance figure was two points lower than the revised figure in the previous month. The long-term average is -1.

In retail trade, sales have increased slightly compared to previous months. Sales expectations for the next few months, on the other hand, have taken a clear downturn again. Inventories contracted slightly from the previous month.

Retail trade confidence was fairly close to the EU average in May.