BRATISLAVA, January 30, (WEBNOVINY) — The economic sentiment indicator in Slovakia posted improvement at the beginning of 2012, going up 1.1 points in monthly terms to 90.2 points. The Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic attributes the upswing to more optimistic outlooks of businesses in industry as well as consumers. Respondents’ evaluations, however, became more pessimistic from a year ago when mood deteriorated by 7.1 points in the monitored period.
The confidence indicator in industry grew 4.7 percentage points to 4.7 points and after eight months exceeded the long-term average. The indicator’s growth was mainly influenced by expected production growth over the next three months as well as higher demand for industrial products, the Statistics Office explains. The confidence indicator in the construction sector slumped 1.5 points from December to minus 41.5 points, as respondents were more pessimistic about expected employment and current demand.
Commerce reported a four-point drop in the confidence indicator to 4.7 points. It was influenced by pessimistic perception of the present-day and future business situation. The confidence indicator in services sank 2.7 points from December to 22 points. The indicator’s development was influenced by a negative assessment of the business situation and expected demand, while current demand was evaluated positively.
The slump in consumer sentiment reported at the end of last year stopped in January. The indicator of consumer confidence rose five points on the previous month to minus 35.8 points. The reason was fewer worries about the development of three items – the expected financial situation of households, prospects of households’ savings and the expected economic development in Slovakia. Compared with the same period of last year the rate of pessimism grew 9.2 points.
SITA
