December 28 (SeeNews) - Most company managers in Romania's manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors expect their business to shrink in the next three months, while a relative stability is forecast in retail, the National Statistical Office (INS) said on Monday.
The managers of companies operating in the manufacturing industry expect production volumes to be lower in the following three months, with a negative 13% balance, INS said in a monthly business sentiment survey.
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The balance is calculated as the difference between the percentage of respondents who expect positive developments and the percentage of those whose expectations are negative.
Regarding the number of employees, a moderate drop is expected, with a negative balance of 8%, while prices of industrial products are expected to be relatively stable in the following three months, with a positive balance of 4%.
The activities that are expected to pick up in the following three months are manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products with a negative short term balance of 36% and in the printing and reproduction on media of records with a negative short-term balance of 32%.
The managers of construction companies expect a drop in the production volumes of their business in the next three months, with a negative balance of 38%.
The managers in the construction sector also expect a drop in the number of employees and stability in the prices of construction works, with a negative balance of 19% and a positive one of 1%, respectively.
Demand for services is expected to slow down in the next three months, showing a negative balance of 17%. Also, a drop in the number of employees is forecast in the services sector, with a negative balance of 6%. According to the interviewed managers in the sector, prices will record a moderate drop, with the negative balance here being 11%.
The managers see a sharp decrease in the hospitality sector, where the short-term negative balance is 57% and in gambling activities, with a short-term negative balance of 56%.
The managers of retail companies expect a moderate drop in economic activity in the next three months, with a negative balance of 11%.
The volume of orders placed by trade units to the suppliers of goods will be moderate, with a positive balance of 2%. Employers forecast a rise in the number of employees in the next three months, with a positive balance of 9%. The managers expect that retail prices will rise, with a positive balance of 13%.
A total of 8,987 managers of Romanian-based companies in construction, manufacturing, retail and services were interviewed in the survey.