In April the seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in manufacturing fell to 89.5 from 91.1 in March. Assessments on order books and inventories remained stable, while production expectations worsened. Differences emerged at sector and geographical level.
According to the quarterly questions, in the first quarter 2012 the rate of capacity utilisation fell to 70.0% compared to 70.5 % in the previous quarter. The length of production assured by current order books fell from 3.1 to 3 months.
In April the seasonally adjusted confidence index in construction rose to 82.9 from 81.8 in March. Assessments of order books improved and employment expectations worsened (the balances from -50 to -47 and from -13 to -14, respectively).