31.10.2019

WIFO-Konjunkturtest of October 2019

Economic Climate Continues to Deteriorate in Manufacturing Industry Sectors

The results of the WIFO-Konjunkturtest (business cycle survey) of October 2019 show – as in the previous month – a clouding of the economic assessments. There are still differences across the sectors: while the economic assessments of companies in the service sectors continue to be confident, those of companies in the manufacturing sector are now sceptical and have deteriorated further.

The index of current assessments for the economy as a whole fell by 2.0 points in October (excluding seasonal fluctuations) to a value of 8.7 points, thus remaining at an overall confident level despite the continued decline. In the service industries, the index rose by 0.8 points and, at 13.5 points, continues to signal a good service economy. In the construction sector, the index fell significantly (–6.9 points), but remains optimistic at 21.1 points. In the economically important manufacturing sector, the situation index continues to lose ground (–4.9 points) and, at –2.7 points, is in a negative range for the first time since June 2016.

In October, the index of business expectations remained almost unchanged from the previous month (–0.1 points) and reached a value of 7.6 points. In the construction sector, the expectation index gained slightly (+1.0 points), and the index value remained within confident ranges at 12.0 points. In the service sectors, the expectation index rose compared with the previous month (+1.5 points) and, at 13.9 points, was in the range of confident economic expectations. In the manufacturing sector, on the other hand, the expectation index fell (–2.5 points) and, at –3.4 points, was negative for the second time in succession.

Details on all sectors in the current economic survey can be found here.