The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ fourth quarter Business Expectations Survey said the “less optimistic” or weak business sentiment was due to the following: higher inflation or the faster increase in prices of consumer goods and services; peso depreciation; decline in sales and demand; rising costs of production inputs such raw materials and fuel; and higher interest rates.
The BES also described as less upbeat the business sentiment for the first quarter 2023 or a CI of 31.3 percent from 43.9 percent in the previous quarter. Meantime, the BSP said businesses expect financial condition and access to credit to be tighter in the fourth quarter. The CI declined further to -23.5 percent from -21.2 percent previously, and -4.2 percent from -2.9 percent, respectively.
The business sentiment by sector is “largely more optimistic” in the fourth quarter except for the services sector. “The less positive outlook of the services sector outweighed the more optimistic outlook of the construction, industry, and wholesale and retail trade sectors, which in turn translated to a lower overall CI,” said the BSP.
Add to that the anxieties of the ordinary Filipinos in the passing of the Maharlika Investment Fund in the House of Representatives.
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