TIRANA, Nov 3 /ATA/ After two consecutive months of decline, the country’s economic sentiment indicator rebounded in October. According to data from the Bank of Albania, the indicator rose by 1.9 points, remaining about 9 points above its historical average.
The improvement in the overall economic climate was mainly driven by increased confidence in the industry, construction, and trade sectors, while the services and consumer sectors saw a slight decline in confidence compared to the previous month.
The industrial confidence indicator rose by 6 percentage points, partially offsetting the decline recorded over the past two months. This increase has pushed the indicator back above its historical average by approximately 1 percentage point.
According to the Bank of Albania, the improvement in this sector has been driven by more positive assessments of new contracts, particularly those related to exports, as well as an increase in current industrial production. Expectations for future employment and prices have also shown an upward trend.
Confidence indicators show that construction and trade are the main drivers of growth. In the construction sector, business confidence increased by 2.4 percentage points in October, remaining approximately 15 points above the long-term average.
The growth has been supported by ongoing construction activity as well as an uptick in new orders, although expectations for future prices are trending downward.
The trade sector has also recorded a significant improvement, with a 7-percentage-point uptick. The current indicator stands 11 points above the historical average, while businesses report more positive assessments of current activity and more optimistic employment expectations. Future price expectations have also been revised upward.
Conversely, the confidence indicator in the services sector declined by 2 percentage points, although it remains 15 points above the historical average. This drop is linked to weaker assessments of current activity and demand levels, while future price expectations have been revised downward.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence saw a modest drop of 1 percentage point, staying slightly above its historical average. Consumers provided more negative assessments of both the national economic situation and their personal financial prospects, while expectations for rising prices have been observed in the coming months.
