Consumer and business confidence are on the increase according to the Survey of Business Confidence and the Consumer Opinion Survey, both conducted by Fedesarrollo.
The Consumer Confidence Index rose from 20.9% in February this year to 21.2% in March. Compared with March 2010 ,confidence grew by 5 percentage points, El Espectador reported Tuesday.
The report also shows that while consumer confidence on the whole rose, particularly in Bogota and Barranquilla, it remained the same in Cali and decreased in Medellin.
In addition, the Business Confidence Index increased from 26.1% in January this year to 28.4% in February. Comprised of three main components, the Business Confidence Index includes the stock level, the economic expectations for the next three months, and the perception of the current economic situation.
Entrepreneurs believe that the level of orders received by manufacturers is 16.9% more than in February 2010. When asked about the economic situation of their business or company, 53.5% of entrepreneurs responded “good”, 40.5% thought it was “acceptable” and only 6% said they believed it to be “bad,” reported the magazine Dinero.
The greatest number of positive responses came from those working in housing construction, followed by those involved in public works.
Fedesarrollo is a private non-profit organization which conducts research in the fields of economics, political science and public administration.