In June, Ukrainian businesses slightly downgraded their assessments of their economic activity following a significant improvement in May. The business activity expectations index fell from 50.8 points to 50, indicating entrepreneurs’ caution regarding near-term prospects.
This is reported by Finway
Main Influencing Factors on Business
Several positive factors influenced these assessments, including stable consumer demand, sufficient supply of goods, and a stable energy supply situation. International financial support and seasonal economic activity revival also play a significant role.
At the same time, there are serious restraining factors. Among them are regular shelling of critically important facilities and infrastructure, intensification of hostilities, and rising costs for raw materials, labor, and fuel. The shortage of skilled labor, as well as exchange rate and inflation expectations, also negatively affect the business climate.
Situation in Different Sectors
The most optimistic sentiments are recorded in the trade sector, where the expectations index rose to 52 points, compared to 50.3 in May. Other sectors, including industry and services, show less positive dynamics.
“Businesses in industry, trade, and services maintain high expectations regarding the pace of increase in procurement prices, as well as prices/tariffs for their own products/services, while construction companies hoped for a weakening of these trends,” noted the NBU.
Moreover, companies in most sectors predict a reduction in the number of employees, with the worst employment expectations recorded in the construction sector.