According to the business leaders surveyed (approximately 8,500 companies and establishments questioned between 21 July and 3 August) :
- activity in July was almost stable in industry, rose in the market services covered by the survey, thanks notably to strong momentum in personal services, but contracted in construction ;
- for the third consecutive month, supply difficulties eased slightly but were still significant in industry (57% in July, down from 59% in June) and construction (48% compared with 52%).The share of business leaders expecting to increase their selling prices declined, reflecting a perceived easing of pressures on raw material prices ;
- for the month of August, business leaders expect a deterioration of activity in industry and construction, but this cannot yet be interpreted as an inflection point ;
- In market services, in contrast, activity is expected to continue to improve. Although uncertainty appears to be abating in construction and services, it remains high in industry according to our indicator. This uncertainty is essentially on the supply side, as order books remain well-stocked.
Buoyed by a strong improvement in market services, GDP growth proved stronger than expected in the second quarter, reaching 0.5% compared with the previous quarter. After increasing in May and June, GDP is expected to stabilise in July, and early signs suggest this stabilisation should continue in August.
