The economic climate deteriorated slightly in November, with the relevant index coming in at 106.1 from 106.9 in the previous month. According to IOBE, this marginal weakening comes from construction and services, with manufacturing, retail Trade and consumer confidence improving. A growing number of businesses are now highlighting the issue of labour shortages in the construction sector, particularly in private projects.

In retail trade, as the festive season approaches, a more optimistic outlook seems to be emerging, although accuracy is still a concern, as shown in the household survey. Consumer confidence is improving, with pessimism easing slightly, especially for the economy, although Greek households remain the most pessimistic in Europe. The international environment remains volatile due to geopolitical tensions that do not seem to be easing.

Moreover, the new administration in the US, as well as developments regarding the coalition government in Germany, will potentially set a new environment that will affect the outward-looking part of our economy. In the domestic environment, the last year of implementation of Recovery Fund projects continues to benefit the investment climate manifold.

In more detail:

• In manufacturing, the negative balance of estimates for orders and demand narrowed slightly; estimates for inventories were maintained, while positive forecasts for production in the coming months strengthened.
• The construction industry maintained negative forecasts for business activity schedules, while positive employment forecasts sharply declined.
• In retail trade, estimates of current sales strengthened markedly, with the level of inventories declining sharply and forecasts for near-term sales growth remaining unchanged.
• In services, positive assessments of the current state of business are unchanged, while estimates of current demand weaken mildly with forecasts for the near-term evolution of demand moving marginally upwards.
• Households' negative forecasts for the country's economic situation have narrowed, while their negative forecasts for their own economic situation have remained unchanged in Consumer Confidence. Simultaneously, households significantly strengthened their forecasts for major purchases and maintained their intention to save.