Wednesday, September 18 2013 15:23
Business index in Armenia down for Q2 2013, amid decline of business climate index
ArmInfo. Business index in Armenia was down for Q2 2013 from 59.7 points to 58.2 point according to evaluation of respondents. The index fell 2.3 points year over year.
The index fell for the quarter under review as business activity index growth rates have slackened. Business index was the highest in the industrial sector - 61 points versus 61.9 points for Q1. The index fell 2.6 points year over year, which means that the growth rates of the business activity in the given sector have slackened. Respondents assessed the business index in the trade sector at 58.4 points versus 59.6 points for Q1, with a 1.9 points year over year decline. Business index in the services sector was 56.8 points versus 58.8 points for Q1, with a 9.3 points year over year decline. The lower business index was in the construction sector, according to respondents. It was 56 points for Q 2, with a 2-point decline for the quarter and a 4.7point growth for the year under review.
Armenian Central Bank told ArmInfo, evaluation of the business climate index fell from 55.5 points to 53.7 points over Q2 2013, amid 0.2-point year over year decline. Business climate index fell as expectations in the construction and trade sectors deteriorated amid insignificant improvement of expectations in the industrial and trade sectors. Business climate index in the industrial sector was the highest - 55.9 points versus 54.7 points for Q1, with a 2.5 point year over year growth. Then goes the trade sector with 55.4 points versus 54.6 points for Q1, and 51.6 points for Q2 2012. Business climate index in the sector of services was evaluated at 53.5 points versus 61.7 points for Q1 and 64 points for Q2 2012. The lowest business climate index was in the construction sector - 50 points versus 51.2 points for Q1 and 46.7 points a year ago. The indices are calculated on the basis of the averaged out the balance of actual estimates and expectations. Actual balance of business activity is based on evaluations of respondents regarding production and demand volumes. Balance of expectations is calculated given possible production volume in the following quarter, the level of demand and volume of reserves.
The Central Bank of Armenia has conducted the given poll among operating enterprises since 2005 to evaluate the current economic situation and expectations in the country. The methods of index calculation are based on the principles developed by the Conference Board (USA) and German IFO.
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