The three-month moving average of the economic sentiment indicator (ESI) increased again in February by 2.2 points compared with the previous month, to 105.6 points. It thus achieved the highest level in the last six years.
The indicator’s development was positively influenced by the increasing confidence in industry, services and partly also among customers, the Statistics Office informed on February 28.
ESI is currently exceeding the value of the corresponding period last year by 4.8 points and the long-term average by 1.6 points, according to the statistics.
The confidence indicator in industry increased 2.4 points to 11.7 in February. The indicator’s development was positively influenced by the expected industrial production growth over the next three months and by the increase of orders.
Compared with the previous month, the confidence indicator in construction decreased 3 points to -9.5 in February, as a result of less favourable evaluations of expected employment and the level of order books. The current result is exceeding its long-term average by 16.5 points.
The confidence indicator in trade decreased in February compared with the previous month by 5 percentage points to 9 points as a result of negative evaluation of the expected and current business activities.
The confidence indicator in services continued increasing in February. It increased 5 percentage points month-on-month to 16 points, being affected by positive evaluations of the demand for the past three months, and also by the expected demand, while the business situation was evaluated more negatively by respondents, according to the Statistics Office.
The consumer mood did not change markedly in February. Compared with the previous month, the seasonally adjusted consumer confidence indicator increased 0.3 points to -6.9 points, due to the decreased pessimism in estimated unemployment. It was partly influenced also by the expected development of the financial situation of households and saving perspectives, while despite the prediction of the assumed development of the economic situation in Slovakia, skepticism increased.
The current seasonally adjusted result is favourable by 0.4 points compared to the corresponding period last year and it exceeded even the long-term average, the Statistics Office informed.
