Stats: Economic Mood Slightly Worsened in January

Bratislava, January 30 (TASR) - Confidence in the Slovak economy in January failed to maintain the growth seen at the end of last year, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) falling by 4.7 points to 101.9, the Statistics Office reported on Thursday. Confidence worsened in three of the five components - in services, in industry and among customers. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs engaged in trade and construction were slightly more optimistic. After seasonal adjustments, the confidence indicator in industry decreased by 7.7 points to -1 in January, mainly as a result of a drop in expected output in the upcoming three months, chiefly in the pharmaceutical industry and in other production. The seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in services declined by 3.6 points to 10.7, with demand in the past three months and the business situation worsening. Demand for services fell mainly in information and communications, while the business situation worsened most rapidly in administrative support services. Meanwhile, the confidence indicator in trade grew by 1.3 points from December to stand at 12.3. The respondents evaluated positively a decrease in the inventories of finished products and expect more intense business activity. The confidence indicator in construction rose by 1.5 points to -6.5 in January under the influence of more optimistic evaluations regarding expected employment, especially in companies engaged in civil engineering construction. Confidence among consumers worsened in January, with the indicator going down by 2.6 points from the previous month to stand at -23.4, the lowest figure seen in the past 20 months. It fell below the long-term average by 3.5 points. Consumers were more pessimistic in three of the four components of the indicator, while one component didn't change from December. Consumers were mainly concerned about household savings, but they were also pessimistic when it came to the overall economic situation and the financial situation of their households. Their expectations regarding developments in unemployment didn't change from the previous month. ko/df