Chile: Business confidence reaches highest level in eight months

The business confidence index (IMCE, Indicador Mensual de Confianza Empresarial) published by ICARE and the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, rose from 40.2 points in December to 45.1 points in January, which marked the highest reading since May 2014. As a result of the increase, the index is now closer to the 50-point threshold that separates pessimism from optimism.

January’s increase was driven by an improvement in both mining and industry. On the other hand, the construction sector recorded a slight deceleration over the previous month.

LatinFocus Consensus Forecast panelists expect fixed investment to grow 4.9% in 2015, which is down 0.2 percentage points from last month’s estimate. In 2016, the panel expects private investment to increase 3.6%.