Business confidence in Finland continues descent: survey

Business confidence in Finland continued to decline in August with the retail sector experiencing the biggest downswing, the Confederation of Finnish Industries' (EK) business confidence indicators showed on Monday, reported Xinhia.

"As expected, business confidence continued to decline," EK Director Sami Pakarinen commented in a press release.

In particular, retail trade experienced a sharp drop from the previous month. Retail trade confidence scored minus 19 in August, 16 points less than in July. "The latest standing is clearly below the long-term average (-1)," the release said.

The construction confidence indicator improved after a long period of decline. Nevertheless, confidence in construction in Finland is among the weakest in the European Union (EU), according to Pakarinen.

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the marked increase in energy prices and the phenomena caused by climate change have also exerted a negative impact on the economy. Pakarinen, therefore, pointed out that there are still no signs of improvement.

Business confidence in Finland has been on the decline since December 2021 with the indicators falling in almost all industrial sectors.

Also on Monday, Statistics Finland confirmed that consumer confidence in the country remained gloomy in August.

Consumer expectations concerning the country's economy in the next 12 months were the "most dismal" since the survey began in 1995.

Around 81 percent of the consumers surveyed said that the country was in a worse state than one year ago and only six percent felt it was better.