Press

The outlook indicators for Finnish businesses for the next six months are polarised, with service and construction companies forecasting a moderate improvement but manufacturing companies expecting the current weak business cycle to continue for the rest of the year. The survey found that the outlook of the manufacturing companies has not undergone any recovery in the first half of the year and the current situation is worse than average. The output of the sector grew very slightly in early summer and is expected to decline slightly in the third quarter. The business cycle for the service sector has improved somewhat but is still below its average. A slight improvement is forecast for the second half of the year and sales are expected to increase at a moderately brisk rate. Further small sales acceleration is expected to take place towards the end of the year. (Finland Times)