Confidence among French manufacturers showed a partial recovery in November, following a sharp decline the previous month, as reported by the statistical office INSEE on Thursday.
The manufacturing sentiment index increased to 97 from October's 93, although it remains below the long-term average of 100. Analysts had anticipated a score of 95.0.
Most opinion balances that define the economic climate contributed to this rebound, notwithstanding a decline in general production prospects, as noted by the agency.
The index evaluating personal production expectations turned positive, rising to 6.0 in November from -2.0 in the prior month. While the producers' past production situation remained in negative territory, it showed improvement, with the index climbing to -7.0 from October's -12.
The index reflecting overall order books also saw an increase, moving to -21 from -25.
However, general production expectations took a slight downturn in November, with the index dropping to -14 from the previous month's -12.
The sub-index predicting the trend in selling prices over the next three months decreased, landing at 3.0 in November compared to 7.0 the month before.
The broad business confidence index, gathering insights from business leaders across industries like manufacturing, construction, services, retail, and wholesale trade, continued its downward trend in November, diminishing to 96 from October's 97. Conversely, the employment climate index showed improvement, rising to 99 from 97.
