Overall demand for French products increased in the first three months of the year, but the demand for exports is likely to deteriorate in the second quarter, an INSEE quarterly survey of manufacturers showed Tuesday.
The indicators for both overall as well as export demand were above their long-term average in the first quarter.
Business leaders expect total demand to continue improving in the second quarter. The corresponding index rose to 4 from -5. However, their view on exports were dim with the relevant index falling to -6 for the second quarter from 5.
While the view on production capacity improved, the share of firms producing at full capacity as well as the capacity utilization rate remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the proportion of businesses facing production bottlenecks was still above its long-term average. Businesses expect manpower to slightly improve in the second quarter.
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