Monthly Industry Briefings > Monthly Industry Forecasts > Engineering And Metal Goods

Sector activity was essentially flat across the major Europeaneconomies in October, which confirms our expectation of astabilisation after the contraction of activity over the summer.Nonetheless, there is little support for expansion in the near term, asgrowth in new orders for capital goods is approaching negativeterritory. Short-term indicators have weakened a bit from very high levels in the US, but the business investment recovery there is well entrenched.