On the business front, confidence unsurprisingly declined again among manufacturers to 97.8 (from 99.1 in July), the lowest level since January 2021. Here, softer orders coupled with a stable inventory component resulted in a decline in the production expectation component. Softer demand in key export destination countries such as Germany and, to a smaller extent, China, is apparently taking its toll, with the domestic component unable to compensate.
Interestingly, the investment goods segment seems less affected, suggesting that some demand linked to the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility might still be in place.
