In April, the economic sentiment in Slovakia was significantly more optimistic than last month. The seasonally adjusted economic sentiment indicator (ESI), increased by 18,7 points to 104,3. It thus reached its highest level since March 2018, thus surpassing its level immediately before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Confidence has increased significantly in all sectors. Far the most in services and in construction, slightly less in industry and among consumers and relatively least in trade. The current ESI is much more optimistic than in the corresponding period last year when the indicator slumped deeply (even by 47,3 points) and it is below the long-term average (by 1,8 points).
In April, the confidence indicator in industry increased by 14 percentage points (p. p.) to 10,3 (from seasonally adjusted data). The indicator´s development was influenced by the increase of the production and by the increase of orders. In April compared with the previous month, the seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in construction rose by 22,5 points to -25,5 due to more favourable evaluations of the overall level of orders and the expected employment. The current result is below the long-term average by 1,5 points. In April, confidence indicator in trade continued to increase, to the level 10,3 (by 7,3 p. p.). The increase was affected mainly by the positive evaluations of the expected business activities (from seasonally adjusted data). A more significant growth of the indicator is hampered by the higher goods stock. In April, the seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in services increased more considerably again, its value (21) rose by 30 p. p. compared with March, while it was just above the long-term average by 1 point. The indicator´s development was affected mainly by more optimistic evaluations of all its three components.
At the beginning of April, the consumer mood in Slovakia was significantly more optimistic than in the previous month. The seasonally adjusted indicator of consumer confidence, increased by 14 points to -22,5, month-on-month. The indicator thus reached its most favourable value and erased more than half of its losses since the deep slump in last April, thus also exceeding the level of its recovery after the first anti-epidemic measures in spring and significantly approaching the pre-pandemic levels. Respondents were much more optimistic about the expectations of the development of unemployment and the general economic situation compared to last month. To a lesser extent, but still significantly more optimistic, they were also in the expectations of the financial situation of households and households savings. Compared to a situation last year, when the indicator slumped deeply, respondents were significantly more optimistic (even by 19,4 points) and the current result is slightly below the long-term average (by 2,7 points).