Denmark Business Confidence Weakens For Third Month

(RTTNews) - Business morale in Denmark eroded for a third month in a row in January mainly due to a significant decline in confidence in the retail industry and worries among companies about their competitiveness, especially in export markets outside the EU amid the trade tariff threats, survey data from Statistics Denmark showed Friday.

The new Business Confidence Indicator, which measures expectations in manufacturing, construction, retail and services, fell to 104.0 from 105.4 in December. The reading was the weakest since August when it was 103.6.

The retail industry confidence index fell sharply to 94.6 from 103.6. This was mainly due to a significant erosion in both revenue and employment expectations with the latter staying in the negative territory for a third month.

Improvement in production as well as employment expectations led the industrial confidence indicator higher to 105.3 from 104.8.

The confidence indicator for the building and construction sector fell to 104.8 from 105.5 as both revenue and employment expectations eased.

Morale in the services sector weakened for a second month as the revenue expectations decreased though there was an improvement in the employment outlook. The confidence indicator fell to 104.5 from 104.9.