Angola: Economic sentiment rises but remains in pessimistic territory in Q2
Economic sentiment continued its upward trend in the second quarter; however, confidence remained encapsulated by pessimism as the sentiment index rose to minus 6 from minus 9 in the first quarter. This marked the 24th consecutive quarter in which confidence was downbeat.
Sector-level data revealed that sentiment remained pessimistic in the transport, tourism, and extractive industries. Within the transport sector, views in current and expected activity remained deep in pessimistic territory, while attitudes towards employment turned less upbeat. The same trend was observed in the tourism sector. Sentiment in the extractive industries suffered from more downbeat views on expected production and exports. More positively, optimism returned to the communications sector on the back of an improved demand outlook.
Despite an expected rebound this year and firming growth next year, the outlook for the economy remains challenging. The health crisis will remain a key risk to the economy, with only 8.4% of the population having received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as of 8 October. Restrictive measures will remain a feature of the economy and weigh on activity.