The economic index of GKI decreased in April

The employment intentions of the companies did not change significantly, but their plans to raise prices slightly strengthened. The predictability of the farming environment improved substantially compared to the previous month. The GKI economic index, which is a summary indicator of corporate and residential prospects, fell by 2 points after a 3-point rise in March – corrected in April. The GKI business confidence index also decreased by 2 points. In April, there was only a favorable change among business service providers (a 2-point increase), the picture did not change in trade, while the expectations in industry and construction worsened slightly (4 and 2-point falls, respectively). In industry, the assessment of the entire order book and the expected production outlook in the next three months also became more pessimistic. In line with this, the level of self-produced stocks decreased significantly. In the construction industry, the assessment of the order book worsened significantly, but employment expectations improved slightly. In trade, although satisfaction with the course of business in the previous three months increased, the assessment of the orders expected in the next three months became less favorable, and the opinion about the stock level remained essentially unchanged. In the service sector, the assessment of the business performance of the previous three months has improved considerably, the turnover expectation for the next three months has barely changed, and the employment plans reflect greater optimism than before. The employment willingness of businesses did not change significantly in April either, the proportion of those planning to expand and reduce the number of employees is roughly the same. Optimists only make up the majority among service companies. The aggregate price increase plans of the business sector rose slightly in April, especially in trade and construction.