KONSTANZ, GERMANY (May 30, 1:50 p.m. ET) — The number of chemical and plastics companies in Western Europe that are positive about the business situation this summer has dropped to 36.7 percent, compared with 41.7 percent earlier in the year, according to a new report from Ceresana Research of Konstanz.
In its report, Ceresana said the European debt crisis continues to be a risk for the global economy, with recent elections in France and Greece casting doubt on whether the region will be able to combat the crisis resolutely.
When asked to evaluate the current situation, just less than half (47.1 percent) of respondents to Ceresana's study said their current situation was ‘satisfying'. Some 36.7 percent answered ‘good' and 16.2 percent said ‘poor.'
Optimism is stronger in the Asia-Pacific region, where two-fifths of respondents assessed their situation as good and 42 percent as satisfied. The most negative region is Eastern Europe, where only 32 percent thinks the business climate is good.
The global chemical and plastics industry thinks the business situation will either improve (42.5 percent) or stay the same (47.4 percent) over the next six to 12 months. Only 9.8 percent of respondents said they expect the business climate to get worse.
Companies in Asia and North America were the most confident, with 76 percent and 63 percent, respectively, expecting an improvement in the market.
