French Confidence in Manufacturing Declines Slightly

Confidence in France's manufacturing sector declined slightly in June, as business leaders were less bullish about their own production levels, statistics agency Insee said Thursday.

Insee's monthly reading of confidence in manufacturing fell by one point to 108. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the reading would remain at 109.

The reading remained well above the long-term average of 100 and business leaders in manufacturing were more confident about the global outlook than at any time since 2007.

The outlook for the French economy has improved in recent months, alongside the better prospects for global trade.

Insee said Tuesday it expects the French economy to grow by 1.6% in 2017, which would be the largest annual expansion since 2011.

Insee also said Thursday that a broader measure of confidence--including services, construction, retail and wholesale as well as manufacturing--rose one point to 106 in June.

-Write to William Horobin at william.horobin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2017 03:10 ET (07:10 GMT)