According to the managers interviewed in April 2013, the business climate remained deteriorated again in the retail trade and in the trade and repair of motor vehicles: the composite indicator lost 4 points and was still significantly under its long term average.
Business leaders remain pessimistic both over the past and over the future: the four balances concerning past sales, expected sales, ordering intentions and general business outlook went on declining while they were very low already.
Business climate synthetic indicator

Recent sales and ordering intentions

| Balances of opinion, in %, s.a. | |||||
| (1) Average since 1991 (2004 for recent and expected sales and ordering intentions). | |||||
| (2) Bi-monthly question (odd-numberred months). | |||||
| Source : monthly survey in the retail trade and in the trade and repair of motor vehicles - INSEE | |||||
| Ave. (1) | Jan. 13 | Feb. 13 | March 13 | April 13 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business climate | 100 | 87 | 89 | 89 | 85 |
| General business outlook | 30 | 48 | 47 | 49 | 52 |
| Recent sales | 6 | 16 | 26 | 26 | 28 |
| Expected sales | 2 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 22 |
| Ordering intentions | 8 | 24 | 16 | 17 | 23 |
| Stocks | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Past selling prices (2) | 6 | 10 | 3 | ||
| Expected selling prices | 2 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| Cash position (2) | 15 | 21 | 21 | ||
| Workforce size: recent trend | 0 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| Workforce size: future trend | 2 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
n° 94 - April 23, 2013
Monthly survey of retailing - April 2013
Next issue June 25, 2013 08:45 - June 2013
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