KOF Economic Barometer: Slight revival in April

The KOF Economic Barometer climbs by 1.4 points in April to a level of 101.8 points (from a revised 100.4 in March). The outlook is improving for the majority of the aspects covered by the barometer. In particular, the indicator bundles for financial and insurance services, manufacturing and private consumption are rising. The outlook for the construction and hospitality industries is slightly bleaker than in March.

In the producing sector (manufacturing and construction), the indicators for production activity and the general business situation are developing particularly favourably. In contrast, in particular the indicators for capacity utilisation of machinery and equipment and for intermediate goods inventories or purchases of intermediate goods are slowing down.

Within the manufacturing industry, the development is very uneven. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry as well as machinery manufacturing stand out positively, while food and beverage manufacturers as well as the textile and clothing industry perform negatively.