Businesses and consumers showed greater confidence in economic developments in September, contributing to a 0.3 percentage point increase in the Economic Sentiment Indicator, according to the Bank of Albania.
According to the Business and Consumer Confidence Survey, published today by the central bank, the Economic Sentiment Indicator stands 7.8 percentage points above its historical average. The improvement was mainly driven by stronger confidence in the construction sector and increased consumer confidence.
Confidence among construction businesses rose by 6.6 percentage points, bringing the indicator to 18 percentage points above its long-term average. The improvement was driven by more positive assessments of current construction activity and order books.
Consumer confidence also increased. The respective indicator rose by around 2.3 percentage points and now stands approximately 5 percentage points above its historical average.
Consumers gave more positive assessments of their financial situation and the country’s future economic outlook. Assessments of current and future major purchases also improved, while expectations for the overall level of prices in the future were revised downward.
In other business sectors, confidence indicators declined in September. Confidence in industry fell by 3.8 percentage points, in services by 2.4 percentage points, and in trade by 1.8 percentage points.
However, confidence indicators in all three sectors remain above their historical averages — by around 3 percentage points in industry, 5 percentage points in services, and 10 percentage points in trade.
According to the Bank of Albania, September’s data reflect a slight improvement in businesses’ and consumers’ perceptions of economic developments, with the construction sector and consumers making the main contribution to the rise in economic sentiment.
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