Business sentiment at 9.5-year peak
Economic sentiment in Greece reached its highest point in almost a decade last month, mainly thanks to the results of the May 26 elections that triggered the snap poll this Sunday.
The Economic Sentiment Index compiled by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) reached a nine-and-a-half-year peak in June. It rose to 101 points from 100.8 points in May.
Expectations have improved across all four main domains of the economy, the survey found, with the strongest rise recorded in services and retail commerce thanks to the simultaneous improvement of consumer confidence.
Business expectations in retail jumped from 96.2 points in May to 103.2 points in June, while services approached the 100-point mark, scoring 98.1 against 90.7 in May: Yet despite the monthly increase, there was a decline in the index’s reading on an annual level. In construction the index rose to 54.6 points from 53.7 points in June and expectations in industry rose to 104.2 points from 102.9 points in May.
There is, however, some concern from the fall in the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), as the strengthening of exports could be vulnerable to a global economic slowdown.
