Manufacturing sentiment in Daegu is expected to improve modestly in the third quarter of this year, while conditions in the construction sector are forecast to worsen further, according to a new survey.
The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Tuesday it surveyed 210 local companies — 160 in manufacturing and 50 in construction — on their third-quarter business outlook. The manufacturing Business Survey Index (BSI) came in at 68, up 5 points from the previous quarter, while the construction BSI fell 6 points to 36.
A BSI reading above 100 indicates that more companies expect conditions to improve than deteriorate compared with the prior period; a reading below 100 signals the opposite.
Within manufacturing, export-oriented firms posted a BSI of 67, down 2 points from the previous quarter, while domestic-demand firms rose 8 points to 68.
All sub-indices in the construction sector declined. Building materials prices (24) and financing conditions (28) recorded the steepest drops, each falling 14 points.
"Business sentiment among local companies is likely to remain sluggish in the third quarter as well," said Kim Byeong-gap, secretary general of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Effective measures are needed to ease the management burden on small and medium-sized enterprises and to revive the depressed construction market in order to support a regional economic recovery."
kbj7653@heraldcorp.com
