The Economic Climate Indicator (ECI), which measures business confidence, recorded “a tenuous recovery in April” compared to the previous month, the National Statistics Institute (INE) announced on Tuesday.
The index rose from 87.2 to 87.7 points.
The change means “an interruption of the negative trend that had been seen for three consecutive months,” reads the latest bulletin on Confidence Indicators and Economic Climate, which also reflects the impact of covid-19 on the Mozambican economy.
“The favourable environment was influenced by the prospects of rising employment and demand in the same reference period,” it adds.
The main positive contribution was made by the economic branches of accommodation, restaurants and similar, industrial production, trade and transport.
These sectors supplanted those of construction and non-financial services, which registered a decline in relation to the expectations registered in the previous month.
The evolution of the ECI comes in line with the improvement recorded in April of the PMI indicator calculated by Standard Bank Mozambique which rose for the first time since February 2020 above the neutral value of 50.
The ICE is part of the bulletin of Confidence and Economic Climate indicators a monthly publication on Mozambique’s environment, compiled based on a survey also conducted every month by the INE to companies in the non-financial sector.
“The study expresses the opinion of economic agents about the evolution and outlook for their activity, particularly on employment, demand, orders, prices, production, sales and limitations on activity,” the statistical authority explains.