The Economic Climate Confidence (ECI) indicator recorded a slight drop in the first quarter of 2021, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reveals the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The ECI balance, in the first quarter of 2021, stood at 86.7 points, compared to 86.9 points in the previous quarter.

In a press release, the entity explains that the unfavorable business confidence in the period under review extended to employment expectations and demand, which registered slight decreases.

"In sectoral terms, the unfavorable situation of the economy in the period under review was due to the negative assessment of the indicator in the accommodation, restaurants and similar, transport and industrial production sectors, thus supplanting the construction, trade, and other non-financial services sectors, which recorded a positive assessment in the same period under review," reads the document.

According to INE, during the reference period, the chapter of expected prices of goods and services recorded a slight drop, which interrupts the signs of recovery seen in the previous quarter. On average, 49% of the surveyed firms faced some obstacle in the first quarter, which represented a decrease in 6% of firms experiencing difficulties compared to the previous quarter.

As justified by the communiqué, the increase of companies with constraints, in the month under review, was influenced, mainly, by the increase of companies with difficulties in all sectors, with greater emphasis on the accommodation, restaurants and similar (58%), transport (54%) and industrial production (52%) sectors, with the highest frequency relative to the other survey sectors.