Business confidence stood at 39.0 in July, down from 42.7 in June. The July result marked the worst reading since July 2020. As a result, the index remained below the 50 point mark, signaling sustained pessimism among businesses.
The fall in July was determined by a generalized deterioration in all sub-components. Confidence in the industrial sector and in the retail trade has declined more. Currently, all four major sectors – mining, construction, industry and retail – are in pessimistic territory.
Speakers interviewed for this month’s LatinFocus report predict a 0.4% drop in fixed investment in 2022, which is down 0.4 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2023, they expect a decline in fixed investments of 0.8%.
