Economic sentiment drops slightly in December
The country’s economic sentiment index posted a marginal decline in December to 101.6 points from 101.8 points in the previous month, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) announced on Friday.
Expectations in industry and construction were on the wane, but there was an improvement in retail commerce, services and consumer confidence; the latter reached a level unseen since March 2015 thanks to its rising course over the last six months.
Generally, the economy appears to be awaiting developments, as corporations and households are trying to adjust to the new conditions that the country’s exit from its international bailout program last August has generated.
Economic sentiment for 2018 as a whole was improved from 2017, with household expectations being affected by government plans for social benefits and other handouts.
