Expectations hit bottom again

According to the survey conducted by GKI Economic Research Co. (www.gki.hu) with the support of the European Union, neither businesses nor consumers have ever been as pessimistic before as this March.

Firms became more
downbeat in all spheres of the economy. In industry, the assessment
of stock of orders deteriorated most, whereas the evaluation of past
and future (next three months) production also dropped, and stocks of
own production and intentions concerning employment remained
unchanged. This year’s plans anticipate a fall in investments.
In
trade the confidence index improved slightly in January but this did
not continue in February or March as the index moved downwards and
thus got back to its “falling line”, even if the assessment of
the stock of orders for the near future remained unchanged.
Expectations concerning sales positions decreased significantly. The
assessment of stocks improved slightly in March following the heavy
fall that started last November.
In services opinions on sales
for the near future deteriorated significantly, intentions concerning
employment decreased slightly as well, but the assessment of the
state of the business stagnated.
GKI’s consumer confidence
index has been decreasing since the sharp fall recorded in October
2008.

Present plans concerning the purchase
of high value durables stagnated but one-year term plans deteriorated
in March.