After three consecutive highs, the Industrial Entrepreneur Confidence Index (ICEI) fell 0.5 percentage points in February, however in comparison with the previous month, and was at 64.8 points, informed the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) this Wednesday (19).
The survey was carried out from February 3 to 12, with 2,393 companies. Although the indicators range from zero to one hundred points. When they are above 50 points they show that the businessmen are “confident”.
At the level of 64.8 points in February, the ICEI is now 10 points above the historical average and is 0.3 points higher than that recorded in February 2019.
Confident Entrepreneurs
Thus, despite the drop in the ICEI, CNI economist Marcelo Azevedo assessed that confidence “remains high”. "This means that entrepreneurs are still willing to increase production, hiring and investments," he added.
Azevedo pointed out that, therefore, the drop in confidence is due more to the change in the perception of businessmen in relation to the current and future conditions of the Brazilian economy than to the companies themselves.
"While the indices related to the company, whether related to the assessment of current conditions or to expectations, retreated less than half a point between January and February, the indices related to the Brazilian economy recorded falls of more than one point", said the economist.
According to the survey, industrial entrepreneur confidence slightly increased in small companies and decreased in medium and large companies.
In comparison with January, the ICEI for February fell by 0.5 points in medium-sized industries. In the large ones, the drop was 0.9 points. In small companies, the increase was 0.2 points in the monthly comparison.
In addition, the survey shows that confidence increased by 0.9 points to 65.5 points among businessmen in the Midwest region.
In the other regions, the indicator retreated. In the Southeast, the drop was 0.9 points and the ICEI was 63.7 points in February. In the Northeast, the retraction was 0.7 points and the indicator dropped to 63.8 points.
