A leading economic think tank, said the Business Confidence Index (ICE) reached 97.5 points in September, 1.5 units higher than in February, before the arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The index consolidates increases in confidence in four sectors of the Brazilian economy: industry, services, trade and construction. The Current Business Situation Index (ISA) rose 4.4 units to 93 points, surpassing the 92.5 points it registered in February, and the Expectations Index (IE) rose 4.9 units to 101 points, recovering 97 percent of what it lost in March and April.
The industrial sector showed the highest growth in optimism in September. Trade and construction remained neutral, while the services sector showed a slower recovery, due to a poor perception of the current situation. Increase in business confidence coincides with the recovery of the country’s economic indicators, which have rebounded from the strong negative impact of the pandemic. In recent months, Brazil’s economy has shown signs of recovery, though that will not prevent gross domestic product (GDP) from plunging 5.04 percent this year, according to the latest forecast from the financial market.