Belarus’ Economy Ministry Again Reports Optimism in Industry

Investment activity at industrial enterprises remains at a high level. This was stated by the Economy Ministry’s press service as it published some results of a business climate survey conducted in August.

“The forecast assessment of investment activity is optimistic. Nineteen percent of managers expect it to grow over the next three months, while 71% expect it to remain at its current level,” the ministry added.

According to the ministry, 64% of respondents reported an increase or stable production volumes, while 70% reported growing or stable demand. The share of respondents reporting a reduction in finished-goods inventories stood at 38%, up 3 percentage points from July.

“The average period for which enterprises are provided with orders has remained unchanged for the third consecutive month at 2.9 months,” the ministry added.

For the second consecutive month, the Economy Ministry did not publish data on the utilization rate of production capacity.

Going forward, enterprise managers expect production volumes to remain unchanged, while 37% expect them to grow. Fifty-seven percent of respondents forecast demand to remain at its current level, while 32% expect it to increase.