Business confidence rose to 43.3 in September from August’s 40.5. As such, the index remained entrenched below the 50-point threshold, signaling sustained pessimism among businesses.
Looking at the details of September’s release, confidence improved in the retail, industrial, construction and mining sectors. Mining sentiment was the most upbeat, likely aided by the rejection of the proposed new constitution which would have increased restrictions on the sector. In contrast, sentiment in the construction sector was the weakest, weighed down by high interest rates.
Panelists surveyed for this month’s LatinFocus report project a 1.0% drop in fixed investment in 2022, which is down 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2023, they project fixed investment to fall 1.6%.
