This is reported by Kontrakty referencing the results of a survey of business leaders conducted in January 2025 by the National Bank.
"The Business Activity Expectation Index (BAEI) for January 2025 was 41.0, which corresponds to the level of January 2024. Traditionally, in January, businesses lower their assessments of current business activity compared to other months due to seasonal factors," the report states.
It is noted that the dynamics of the BAEI were hindered by the complex security situation, lack of investment in production capital, needs for energy resources and labor, rising production costs, and inflationary and devaluation processes. At the same time, positive influences were driven by stable consumer demand and significant volumes of international financial aid.
Industrial enterprises assessed their performance more cautiously due to the destruction of production capacities and lack of investment: the sector index in January was 42.0 (compared to 43.7 in January 2024). Trade companies improved their assessments to 40.0 (up from 38.9 in January 2024). Service sector enterprises also raised their index to 41.1 (from 40.4 in January 2024). Construction companies provided the most cautious assessments for the third consecutive time due to seasonal work and labor shortages - the sector index in January was only 37.2, although this is an improvement over last year's 31.9.
As reported, the survey was conducted from January 6 to 23, 2025, with participation from 519 enterprises. Among the respondents, 43.7% were industrial companies, 26.6% were in services, 24.5% in trade, and 5.2% in construction; 29.7% of respondents were large enterprises, 28.3% medium, and 42.0% small.