Chile: Business confidence increases in January
Business confidence came in at 43.7 in January, up notably from December’s 35.7. Consequently, the index remained entrenched below the 50-point threshold, signaling that businesses were pessimistic—albeit less so than in the prior month.
Looking at the details of January’s release, sentiment in the industrial, mining, retail and construction sectors all improved.
Business sentiment should benefit this year from lower interest rates at home and abroad and the removal of uncertainty over rewriting the constitution, which should support investment in turn. However, the government’s ambivalent attitude towards the private sector and plans to raise taxes will likely still keep a lid on business sentiment.