MADRID, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Harmonized Business Confidence Indicator (ICEA), whose publication corresponds to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), fell by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of the year in relation to the previous quarter, in contrast to the rise of 7.5% experienced in the summer months.

The drop in business confidence registered in the fourth quarter is due to the worsening of both the expectations indicator and the current situation indicator, in a context marked by the war in Ukraine, a high rate of inflation, high prices of raw materials and interest rate hikes.

Specifically, the balance of expectations (difference between the opinions of optimistic and pessimistic businessmen) stood at -11.8 points, compared to the drop of 4.2 points registered in the previous quarter.

This is due to the fact that the percentage of business establishments that think that the progress of their business will be favorable between October and December of this year has stood at 15.5%, a figure lower than that of the previous quarter (19.6%) , while entrepreneurs who are pessimistic about the evolution of their business have increased from 23.8% in the previous quarter to 27.3%.

At the same time, the percentage of entrepreneurs who believe that their business will continue as normal has increased to 57.2%, compared to 56.6% in the previous quarter.

For its part, the balance sheet (difference between favorable and unfavorable responses with respect to the final quarter) has improved more than three points with respect to the previous quarter, going from 1.3 points in the third quarter to -2.3 points in the fourth. .

This more negative view of the current situation is the result of the increase in business establishments that think that their business has evolved unfavorably in the last three months and the decrease in those who think that it has behaved positively.