Chile: Business confidence picks up but remains pessimistic in August
Business confidence rose to 43.2 in August from July’s 41.1. August’s result marked the best performance since September 2022. As such, the index remained entrenched below the 50-point threshold, but indicated reduced pessimism among businesses.
August’s reading was driven by improved sentiment in the industrial, retail sector and mining sectors. Despite improved business confidence so far in Q3 relative to Q2, the Consensus is still for a year-on-year contraction in fixed investment in the third quarter, and over 2023 as a whole.