S&P Global: Business confidence in factory output wanes

Business expectations for factory output in the next 12 months have significantly declined worldwide in September 2024, reaching their lowest level since November 2022 and falling below the long-run average.

This decline is attributed to lower workloads and concerns about geopolitical factors such as the US elections, political changes in Europe, and increasing protectionism and tariffs. Backlogs of uncompleted orders also fell sharply in September 2024.

Attribution: S&P Global report

Subediting: M. S. Salama