The monthly index of confidence by the Chilean entrepreneurs (IMCE) has reached 39.01 points in July, down by 3.71 points from June, maintaining since March 2022 pessimistic expectations by entrepreneurs, under the 50-point line that separates optimism from pessimism.
According to the economic institute Icare and the University Alfonso Ibanez (UAI), which developed the research, the expectations from representatives of all sectors were negative, with commercial activities at 40.87, civil construction at 25.00, industrial activities at 39.37 and mining activities at 49.52.
The utilization rate of the capacity of the manufacturing industry was stable at 68.5 percent, a level considered as healthy in comparison to the historical average of 71.1 percent.
In relation to the inflation rate, the expectations for the next 12 months are for a 9.95 percent rate of inflation, maintaining a consistent increase of pessimism for the issue since a 3.8 percent inflation rate was expected in August 2021 by the Chilean entrepreneurs.
Analysts believe that the results of the research could be negatively impacted by the realization in the country of a constitutional plebiscite in a little more than one month.