Confidence in the country's economy rose among both businesses and consumers in March. It is now at its highest among businesses since July 2022.

"Business confidence rose for the third month in a row, bringing it closer to its long-term average," said Jiří Obst, head of the CSO (Czech Statistical Office)'s cyclical surveys department. "Consumers' confidence in the economy increased after a three-month decline, mainly due to the easing of consumers' otherwise still significantly negative expectations about the economic situation in the Czech Republic for the next 12 months," said Anastasija Neradová from the Department of Economic Surveys.

Compared to February, the value is up 1.7 points to 99.5 points.

Business confidence in the economy increased by 1.6 points to 99.6 in March. "Of all the assessed questions entering the aggregate indicator of business confidence, higher expected demand in selected service sectors contributed most significantly to the March growth," Obst said.

Confidence has risen across all sectors. Compared to February, it rose the most in trade, up 2.3 points to 102.2. Confidence rose 1.8 points to 102.3 in selected services, 1.3 points to 94.8 in industry and 1.1 points to 115.8 in construction.

The consumer confidence index increased by 2.2 points to 98.8 compared with the previous month. According to the CSO, the share of consumers expecting a deterioration in the overall economic situation in the Czech Republic over the next 12 months has decreased month-on-month, but remains relatively high. The share of households expecting a deterioration in their financial situation has fallen slightly. The number of households assessing their current financial situation as worse than in the previous 12 months remained the same as in February. However, the number of respondents planning no major purchases in the coming year fell slightly.

Sources: Novinky.cz; E15 Magazine