In April, confidence in economy increased among consumers, as well as among the majority of entrepreneurs, there was a decline only in construction

The economic sentiment improved especially in trade, it reached the highest level in the last 14 years, entrepreneurs in services and industry were also more optimistic, and their confidence was the highest in the last ten months. Pessimism was only in construction. Consumer confidence also increased, only the concerns about the expected development of unemployment eased the most.

The economic sentiment in Slovakia was significantly more optimistic in April due to greater confidence in almost all sectors, but also among consumers. There was a deterioration only in construction. The mood is measured by five sub-indicators expressing the expectations and confidence of entrepreneurs in four sectors (industry, construction, trade and services) and consumers. The sub-indicators range from -100 points (maximum pessimistic responses) to +100 points (maximum optimistic responses).

The improvement of the sentiment in industry from the previous month continued in April, with the confidence indicator (seasonally adjusted) rising by 5.6 percentage points (p.p) to 6.3, the highest level in ten months. The favorable development of the indicator was influenced by an increase in the expected production and orders. Production is expected to increase mainly in manufacture of food and other non-metallic products, while increased orders are expected mainly in manufacture of textiles.

The most significant month-on-month growth was recorded in April by the confidence indicator in services, after a two-month drop it increased by 13 p.p. to the level of 17.3, which was its highest value since June last year. The evaluations of all three of its components were more positive, while the improvement in the business situation as well as increased demand was felt mainly in accommodation and food services; demand in the next three months is again expected mainly in financial and insurance activities.

The consumer atmosphere in Slovakia improved relatively significantly in April compared to the previous month, the seasonally adjusted consumer confidence indicator rose by 5.2 points to -23.1. Concerns about the expected development of unemployment as well as the general economic situation eased the most. Consumers also perceived the expected financial situation of their households and the associated savings more favorably.

In April, confidence in trade reached its highest level in the last 14 years. With a growth by 6.7 p.p. the confidence indicator in trade reached the level of 29.7, which is the highest value since March 2008. Entrepreneurs were more optimistic, especially in the evaluations of the current business activities, as well as expected requirements for suppliers. Positive evaluations (weighted by turnover) in both cases prevailed mainly in retail sale of automotive fuels and in retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco.

The seasonally adjusted confidence indicator in construction dropped month-on-month in April for the second consecutive month. The decrease by 2 points to the level of -13.5 was influenced by less favorable evaluations of the overall level of orders. However, the current result still exceeds the long-term average, by 10.5 points.