Stats: Economic Mood Slightly Improves after Four Months in November

Bratislava, November 28 (TASR) - The economic mood among Slovak entrepreneurs and consumers slightly improved after four months in November, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) growing by 1.3 points to 98.8, the Statistics Office reported on Thursday. Confidence improved in two of the five components - services and industry. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs engaged in trade and construction, as well as consumers expressed pessimism. The overall figure is 1.2 points less optimistic than in the same period of last year, and it lags behind the long-term average by 7.2 points. After seasonal adjustments, the confidence indicator in industry rose by 2.3 points to -1 in November, mainly as a result of an increase in expected output in the upcoming three months, chiefly in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in services increased by 3 points to -0.3, with both so-far and expected demand posting a growth. Demand for services chiefly grew in art, entertainment and recreation over the past three months, while it is expected to increase mainly in information and communication in the next three months. Meanwhile, the confidence indicator in trade fell by 2.7 points from October to stand at 12. The respondents mainly evaluated negatively growth in the prices of goods and expected business activities in the upcoming three months. The confidence indicator in construction declined by 2 points to -10 in November under the influence of less optimistic evaluations regarding the expected employment, chiefly in companies engaged in civil engineering constructions. Confidence among consumers worsened again in November, with the indicator going down by 1.5 points from the previous month to stand at -20.5, the lowest figure seen in the past 15 months. It fell below the long-term average by 0.3 points. Consumers were more pessimistic in three out of the four components of the indicator, most of all about the unemployment developments. However, they were also more downbeat than in October when it came to evaluations of household savings and the overall financial situation. They were a bit more optimistic only about the developments in the overall economic situation. ko