Business confidence remain depressed

Saturday, 3 July 2021 00:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A month after recording a free fall that nearly wiped the gains witnessed this year, the LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) remained largely unchanged in June, registering a slight drop of two basis points to 87.

According to LMD, this is the second consecutive month that the index has recorded the lowest value for this year while it is also below where it was a year ago (96) and more than 20 points lower than its 12-month average.

NielsenIQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya offers insights into the latest survey results: “June was a month of disaster after disaster – apart from the ongoing scourge of COVID-19, the floods caused by the monsoon rains and fire on the X-Press Pearl container ship added to the nation’s already overburdened situation.”

LMD reports that the impact of the pandemic continues to be highlighted as the most pressing issue by the business community. Similarly, the spread of the pandemic continues to be cited as the main concern for the country.

However, Miyanadeniya explains that there are other causes for concern including the potential impact of the hike in fuel prices as this could affect the cost of other goods and services.

Commenting on the future trajectory of the BCI, a spokesperson for LMD’s publisher Media Services says: “The outlook for the index will depend on the country’s response to healthcare and policy challenges among others, in addition to whether or not ‘travel restrictions’ will be imposed off and on.”

Media Services says the latest edition of LMD will be released shortly while its digital version is available on WhatsApp and its social media platforms (for the full BCI report, visit www.LMD.lk).