The Economic Climate Indicator (ECI), which measures business confidence, registered "a faint recovery in April" when compared to the previous month, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) announced this Tuesday.

The index rose from 87.2 to 87.7 points.

The change means "an interruption in the negative trend that had been seen for three consecutive months," reads the latest bulletin on Confidence Indicators and Economic Climate, which also reflects the impact of covid-19 on the Mozambican economy.

"The favorable environment was influenced by the prospects of rising employment and demand in the same reference period," he adds.

The main positive contribution was made by the accommodation, restaurants and similar, industrial production, trade and transport sectors.

These sectors supplanted construction and non-financial services, which registered a retreat from expectations registered in the previous month.

The ICE's development comes in line with the improvement in April of the PMI indicator calculated by Standard Bank Mozambique, which rose above the neutral value of 50 for the first time since February 2020.

The ICE is part of the Confidence and Economic Climate Indicators Bulletin, a monthly publication on Mozambique's economic situation compiled on the basis of a survey also conducted every month by the INE to companies in the non-financial sector.

"The survey expresses the opinion of economic agents about the development and outlook of their activity, particularly on employment, demand, orders, prices, production, sales and activity limitations," the statistical authority explains.