Angola: Economic sentiment edges up but remains downbeat in fourth quarter of 2020
Although economic sentiment reversed the downward trend in the fourth quarter of last year, confidence remained deeply entrenched in pessimistic territory as the economic sentiment index came in at minus 16 from minus 24 in the third quarter. This marked the 22nd consecutive quarter of negative sentiment levels.
Sector-level data revealed that the print was driven by improving sentiment in the tourism, construction, manufacturing and commercial sectors. On the other hand, confidence in the communication and transport sectors deteriorated. The improvement in the tourism sector compared to a quarter prior likely reflected optimism regarding vaccination programs, which would facilitate a return to normalcy and a boost to travel.
However, the outlook remains challenging amid lingering uncertainty over the course of the pandemic, with recent delays to the rollout of vaccination programs amid worries over the jabs highlighting that the recovery is likely to be slow.
Gerrit van Rooyen, economist at Oxford Economics, added:
“Global trade and travel remains repressed by continued domestic and international Covid-19 containment measures, which have caused a slump in consumption and investment activity. The recovery is expected to be moderate until widespread inoculation is achieved towards the end of 2021.”