Octavia Hedwig Zahrt
- 27 October 2023
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 7, 2023Details
- Abstract
- This box summarises the findings of recent contacts between ECB staff and representatives of 56 leading non-financial companies operating in the euro area. According to these exchanges, which took place between 25 September and 5 October, aggregate activity appeared to have contracted in the third quarter of 2023 and was expected to contract further in the fourth quarter. While there were still notable differences across sectors, tailwinds supporting activity in some sectors were reportedly fading and headwinds in other sectors continued to hold activity back. The growth rate of selling prices continued to slow in the third quarter of 2023 and further moderation was anticipated for the fourth quarter. This reflected a recovery of supply alongside moderating demand in some sectors, as well as relatively stable non-labour input costs. Wage growth remained strong but was expected to moderate slightly in 2024. The effect of tightening financing conditions over the past 12 months was notably greater in the industrial sector than in the services sector and was expected, on balance, to intensify in the next 12 months.
- JEL Code
- E2 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy
E3 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
L2 : Industrial Organization→Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior