Business Climate in Germany’s Chemical Industry Clouds Over
The ifo Business Climate in Germany’s chemical industry deteriorated noticeably in June. The indicator fell to -28.3 points, down from -12.5 points* in May. Business expectations in particular took a further dip. They fell to -25.6 points, down from -5.5 points in May. “High energy and production costs aren’t the only things putting a strain on business in the chemical industry. The order situation is continuing to worsen for many companies due to persistently weak global demand for chemical products,” says industry expert Anna Wolf of the ifo Institute.
Assessments of the current business situation are now even more negative: the indicator fell to -31 points, its lowest level since June 2020.One of the very few positive developments is the supply of intermediate products: only 12.5 percent of companies still reported bottlenecks. This is the lowest level since 2021. There are signs that upward price spiraling is coming to an end, with the majority of companies planning to lower their prices. The companies surveyed rated their competitiveness less negatively than in the first quarter of 2023.
*Seasonally adjusted
