Business confidence registers a slight increase of 1.8% in April.
By
April 30, 2024
In April 2024, the Business Confidence Index (BCI) in Pakistan rose by 1.8% to 53.3, marking a three-month high. This suggests that trust in businesses, which had dwindled, is slowly recovering. The increase is mainly seen in the services sector, where the BCI went up by 2.6% to 54.7, while the industry sector saw a slight dip by 0.4 points to 49.9.
This is the second survey since the February 2024 general elections. Businesses are closely following the government’s negotiations with the IMF for a loan program expected to be finalized by June-July 2024. However, the maintenance of the high key policy rate at 22% for the past 10 months is hindering industrial output and service sector improvement.
Current sentiment shows a rise in the Current Business Confidence Index (CBCI) by 2.4 points to 50.1, with the services sector contributing most to this change. The outlook also looks positive, with the Expected Business Confidence Index (EBCI) increasing by 1.2 points to 56.9 in April 2024.
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slightly increased to 49.9, with improvements in average supplier delivery times. Inflation expectations decreased by 3.3 points to 66.1, and employment indexes saw minor fluctuations.
Capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector decreased by 4.1% to 63.6 in April 2024.
