In April 2024, the economic climate improved marginally, with the Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) increasing by 0.8 units compared to March 2024.
The rise in ESI stemmed from the strengthening of the business climate across all sectors, with the largest increases noted in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
The improvement in the services sector was marginal in April and solely resulted from more optimistic estimates for the business cycle in the next quarter.
The climate in retail trade experienced a slight increase due to more favorable assessments of current inventory levels and improved expectations for sales in the next quarter.
Businesses in the construction sector gave more favorable evaluations of their ongoing projects and provided more optimistic estimates for their workforce numbers, resulting in a strengthening of the climate in the sector.
The strengthening of the climate in manufacturing is attributed to the improvement of all aspects comprising the sector’s climate, namely assessments of current order levels and final product inventories, as well as expectations for next quarter’s production.
Consumer sentiment declined in April, as consumers appeared more pessimistic compared to March about the future economic situation of their households and the country as a whole.
The Economic Uncertainty Index increased marginally in April due to greater uncertainty among businesses in the services and retail trade sectors.
