Confidence in the final quarter of 2013, improved in the industry, trade and services sectors and deteriorated in the construction sector and among consumers, the survey showed.
TIRANA, Jan. 15 – Albania’s Economic Sentiment Index, measuring both business and consumer confidence climbed by 5.5 percent to around 73 percent in the final quarter of 2013, but continued standing around 27 percentage points below its long-term average, according to a survey by the central bank.
In its latest survey, Albania’s central bank has also included the trade confidence index in the Economic Sentiment Indicator and updated the business and consumer confidence indices to annual GDP fluctuations.
“The main reason for the inclusion of the trade confidence index is the need for information on a dynamic sector which provides rich information on the performance of consumption in the economy,” says the central bank.
In the third quarter of 2013, when the economy shrank by 2.3 percent, the central bank had reported a 10 percent increase in the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) but in its revised data central bank said the ESI dropped by 4 percent in the third quarter.
Confidence in the final quarter of 2013, improved in the industry, trade and services sectors and deteriorated in the construction sector and among consumers, the survey showed.
The trade sector which is surveyed for the first time registered a 7.6 percent increase in its confidence in the final quarter of 2013 on better employment, financial situation and overall situation. Trade businesses are slightly more optimistic about the first quarter of 2014.
Confidence in industry sector, dominated by manufacturing, improved by 1.7 percentage points in the final quarter as domestic demand dropped by 3.4 percent while external demand rose by 0.7 percentage points.
Confidence in the long-ailing construction sector further dropped by 1.2 percentage points with the confidence index standing 26.4 percentage points below its long-term average.
Confidence in the services sector improved by 8.2 percentage points on better general business situation, demand and financial situation indicators.
Consumers became more pessimistic in the final quarter of 2013, with the confidence index down by 4.7 percent on deteriorated economic and financial expectation. Big purchases and the income-spending situation also had a negative impact.
“Consumers perceive that the average cost of living rose in the final quarter of 2013 and expect unemployment and inflation rate to increase in the first half of 2014.
