GKI's business confidence index fell to 2.4 points in March from 5.3 in February.
In the industrial sector, assessments of order stock and output in the recent period as well as outlooks for production in the coming months worsened. However, more companies said they wanted to move forward with investments.
Overall sentiment among construction companies was little changed: outlooks for the building segment improved, but worsened in the civil engineering segment.
In the commerce sector, confidence increased, rebounding after a decline in February.
In the service sector, confidence slipped, but the gauge was still over the level in January.
The consumer confidence index dropped to -28 points in March from -17 in February. Households said their financial situations improved – albeit a month after families raising children got tax refunds and many public sector workers got fatter paycheques, GKI noted – but their outlooks worsened and fewer planned purchases of big-ticket items.
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