Chile: Business confidence rises in February
The business confidence index (IMCE, Indicador Mensual de Confianza Empresarial) published by ICARE and the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez rose from 50.7 points in January to 54.2 in February, thus moving further above the crucial 50-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism among businesses.
The improvement was underpinned by better performances in three out of the four sectors included in the index. Confidence in the mining sector jumped amid prospects of greater production and higher investment. In addition, sentiment in the commercial sector also turned more optimistic in February, while confidence within the manufacturing sector also improved from a month earlier and now sits right on the 50-point threshold. On the other hand, sentiment in the construction sector fell and remained pessimistic.