Economic sentiment index declines to 90.7 points
The economic sentiment index eased to 90.7 points in January from 91.8 in December, reflecting a mild weakening of expectations in the services sector, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in a report on Monday.
In its monthly report, IOBE said that the restart of some activities, mainly in retail commerce, contributed toward boosting expectations in a significant part of the domestic economy.
Also, the vaccination program, combined with the relief at mild pandemic data after the holiday period, helped create a more positive climate among Greek households and enterprises.
On the other hand, significant uncertainties remained over developments in the pandemic, the vaccine flow, a temporary loosening of restrictive measures and the impact of the crisis on tourism and households. In any case, the report noted that developments in the near future will play a decisive role in economic trends in 2021.
More specifically, business expectations in the industrial sector showed a mild decline in a negative balance of estimates regarding orders and demand, while positive estimates concerning production in the coming months rose further.
In the construction sector, negative estimates regarding production rose significantly, while negative estimates concerning employment eased. In retail commerce, negative estimates regarding current sales fell slightly while negative estimates concerning short-term sales weakened significantly.
