For the first time in 11 months, Ukrainian business returned to positive assessments of activities
For the first time in the last 11 months, Ukrainian business gave a positive assessment of its own economic activity. About this testify results of a survey conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine.
Expectations of enterprises of all sectors were positively influenced by stable consumer demand, growth in production volumes, receipt of international aid, stabilization of energy supply, as well as seasonal factors.
The index of expectations of business activity (IODA) in March 2025 rose above the neutral level and amounted to 51.8 points, which is more compared to 46.9 in February 2025 and almost corresponds to the indicator of March 2024 — 52.0. The NBU notes that this indicates the ability of business to adapt to the difficult conditions caused by a full-scale war.
Trading companies were the most optimistic — their sectoral index reached 54.0 points. The participants expected an increase in turnover and purchase volumes, although they predicted a decrease in the trade margin.
Industrial enterprises also improved the assessment of their activity: their index increased to 53.1 points. The respondents reported on the expectation of an increase in the volume of manufactured products and new orders, in particular export ones.
In the construction sector, expectations improved significantly due to the seasonal factor. The index rose to 52.9 points in March. The companies predicted an increase in the volume of construction, new orders and purchases of raw materials.
The sphere of services remained the most restrained: the sectoral index was 48.8 points. At the same time, in March, for the first time in 10 months, enterprises of this sector expected an increase in the volume of provided services and for the first time in 11 months, an increase in the volume of services in progress.
