Confidence only increases in Public Works
In February, the economic climate indicator stabilized. However, Public Works stood out as the only area in which confidence increased, although it remains negative.
Consumer confidence and economic climate stabilized in February, with special highlight to the Construction and Public Works area. In this sector, the indicator “increased in January and February, after the decrease on the three previous months”, according to INE, this Tuesday. However, it is still the only indicator that with negative confidence levels.
In spite of achieving the only positive evolution and reaching a peak since May of 2002, Construction and Public Works remains in negative grounds, moving to 15.3 negative points, comparable to the 15.5 negative points registered in January. “This evolution was due to the positive contribution of both components, employment perspectives and opinions on the order books”, INE justifies in its Business and Consumer Surveys.
In the opposite direction went the confidence indicators in Manufacturing Industry, in Trade and in Services. The Manufacturing industry maintained its upward trajectory since 2016, but the first two months of 2018 reversed the trend. The production perspectives and opinions on global demand had a negative weight. Activity perspectives negatively influenced Trade, “whereas the opinions on sales evolution and on the volume of stocks contributed positively”, according to the statistical office. In Services, although perspectives on companies activities stabilized, the balance of order books and the evolution of demand dictated the decrease.
As for consumer confidence, it stabilized in February, according to the report. This was the result of a balance of forces: the positive contributions of the perspectives on savings and on the country’s economic situation, compensated by the negative contributions of the expectation on household’s financial situation and the evolution of the unemployment the study highlights.
