prospects for 2013 is provided by the economic
sentiment indicator, which is compiled by the
Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research
(IOVE) and reached a two-year high in January.
The overall indicator picked up, thanks to the
improvement of business expectations in all sec-
tors, excluding construction, as well as the
improvement of consumer confidence. Especially
in industry, there has been an improvement in
business sentiment as a result of current
demand; however, expectations on production
levels remained weak. More specifically, the
Business Confidence Indicator in Industry rose in
December, reaching 83.6 points (from 80.4
points), markedly improved as compared to its
January 2012 level (70.9 points). The improve-
ment in the assessments of order-book levels,
demand and the (reduction of the) stocks of fin-
ished products have been pushing up the overall
indicator. In addition, the expectations regarding
the production level of the next quarter are more
sanguine.
Competitiveness
According to the “Global Manufacturing
Competitiveness Index 2013”, a survey prepared
by Deloitte, Greece is ranked as the least com-
Trade with Greece
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