Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (File photo / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The rainy season, the ongoing conflict in Marawi City and the depreciation of the peso pulled down the business sector’s optimism in the third quarter to its lowest level in three years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Friday.
The latest business expectations survey showed that the overall confidence index (CI) dropped to 37.9 percent during the July to September period, the lowest since the 34.4 percent posted in the third quarter of 2014.
The still positive CI nonetheless meant that the number of optimistic businesses outnumbered the pessimists.
The BSP said survey respondents attributed their less buoyant outlook to the seasonal slowdown in business activities amid the rainy season, the slack in demand during the planting and closed milling season, and the closed fishing season in Davao Gulf during the three-month period.
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
Also, respondents were less optimistic due to the fighting between government forces and ISIS supporters in Marawi City that led to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao in May, which the BSP said “affected people’s mobility to and in” the war-torn island.
Respondents also blamed the weaker peso, which slid to 11-year lows since late-June.
