October 26 (SeeNews) - Macedonia's business sentiment index in the manufacturing industry decreased in September as managers perceived the business climate in the country as more unsatisfying compared to the previous month, the Statistics Office said on Monday.
The business sentiment indicator, which is based on expectations in the manufacturing industry, fell by 1.2 points in September from a month earlier, the Statistics Office said in a statement.
The production volume in September decreased compared to the previous month as well as expected production volume, while expectations in terms of number of employees is more unsatisfactory.
The average purchasing prices of raw materials is seen increasing, together with the average selling prices of finished goods.
The major problems identified by manufacturing managers in September are low demand abroad (24%), low domestic demand (18.3%), financial problems (12.8%) and uncertainty of economic environment (11.5%).
NOTE: The Statistics Office releases monthly data for business sentiment index (BSI) in manufacturing industry, and quarterly data for BSI in the construction and retail sectors.