Chile: Business confidence records worst reading since July 2020 in October

Business confidence fell to 39.0 in October from September's 43.3. October's result marked the weakest sentiment since July 2020, and was likely weighed on by elevated inflation and interest rates and deteriorating global growth prospects. The index remained entrenched below the 50-point threshold separating pessimism from optimism among businesses.

October's reading was driven by more downbeat sentiment in the retail, construction, industrial and mining sectors.

Panelists surveyed for this month’s LatinFocus report project a 1.0% drop in fixed investment in 2022, which is down 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2023, they project fixed investment to fall 1.6%.