Strong fall of business optimism in Argentina in the first quarter

The business optimism in Argentina fell drastically in the first quarter of the year according to a recent global research reaching a net 16%, with a fall of 32 percentage points in relation to last year.

Expectations of increased exports in our country have decreased by 6 percentage points to reach 12% net, while expectations of increased employment have fallen by 22 points to 20% net , a minimum in almost two years . At the same time, 10% net of companies expected higher profits during the next year.

This line coincides with Latin America in general, where optimism fell 10 percentage points to 25% in the first quarter of 2018, according to the report of International Business Report (IBR), prepared by the firm Grant Thornton, what is opposed to the global trend where the economic outlook is at an all time high of all time.

• World outlook

The IBR finds that in the first quarter of 2018, the global optimism of companies is at 61% net, the highest figure recorded in 15 years of research .

On the other hand, the results reveal that the greatest increases in optimism for the next 12 months are found in Europe and North America . Confidence among US companies UU It is at a historic high of 89% net. In Europe, the French business optimism is at a new level ( 75% net) and the United Kingdom is more optimistic (31% net) since it voted for leaving the EU. Trust is broad; in Greece business optimism is in positive territory (6% net) for the first time in three years.

In Southeast Asia optimism has increased 61% net . This is the highest figure in seven years. In other parts of Asia, however, China (-13pp) and Japan (-11pp) register decreases in optimism. In addition, in Latin America optimism fell 10pp, to net 25%. However, even in these regions, levels of optimism compare favorably with those of recent years.