The industrys optimism is the highest one in the last 3 years
O Estado de S.Paulo - 04/25/2008
In April, the confidence of the Brazilian industrial businesspeople increased by the fourth consecutive quarter and reached the highest level since January, 2005. The figures are from the Industrial Businesspeople Confidence Index (Icei) survey published by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) yesterday. The index reached 62 points, 2.6 points above last year's April's results. In relation to this year's January, it grew 0.2 points, which can be considered a positive in the CNI's opinion because, traditionally, April's Icei is worse than January's. To form the index, CNI surveyed 1,490 companies of 22 states, from which 846 are small companies, 437 mid-sized ones, and 207 large industries. The result, however, remained the same due to the evaluation of the large companies. The confidence index in this segment rose from 62.4 points in January to 64.4 points in April. The confidence index of the small businesspeople, however, fell from 61.1 points to 60.2 points in the same period. The indicator of mid-sized companies also fell, from 61.7 points in January to 60.5 points in April. The indicators range from zero to one hundred. Evaluations above 50 points indicate that the businesspeople are confident in Brazilian economy and in their own business. According to the document, businesspeople are more optimistic regarding the current situation of the economy than with their own businesses. The Icei that evaluates the economic situation reached 56.3 points, while, regarding the situation of the company itself, it was 55 points. As for the expectations of the next the six months, businesspeople show more confidence regarding their own companies The indicator was 60.3 points in relation to the Brazilian economy and went up to 67.8 points regarding the business itself.