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Business sentiments recover in July-Sept
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SME Times News Bureau | 20 Sep, 2020
With the gradual lifting of the restrictions on economic activities
across the country, business sentiments have recovered with the CII
Business Confidence Index surging to 50.3 in the July-September period.
During the April-June quarter of 2020, it recorded its lowest reading at 41.0.
"The
stellar recovery in the index has been supported by the remarkable
increase in the Expectations Index (EI), which rose 46 per cent
quarter-on-quarter, to the level of 55.2, as the nationwide lockdown
restrictions were lifted, and businesses gradually began to reopen
during the July-September quarter," a CII statement said.
The
'Current Situation Index', on the other hand, was recorded below the
psychological level of 50 -- at 40.6 -- as the stringent lockdown
restrictions led to the complete shutdown of most business operations
for a larger part of the quarter, thus impacting business sentiments.
Commenting
on the survey results, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII,
said: "It is heartening to note the recovery in CII's Business
Confidence Index for the July-September quarter, indicating an
improvement in business conditions during the period. However, while a
recovery is underway, it could be tremendously expedited through
continued government support and hand-holding of businesses during this
crisis."
Although business sentiments have strengthened, the demand scenario continues to remain weak, as per the survey.
"More
than half of the respondents (51 per cent) have indicated that the
weakness in domestic demand is likely to be the top-most risk to
business confidence in the next six months," it said.
Further,
nearly 30 per cent of the respondents feel that the business activity
may return to the pre-pandemic levels by Q1 FY22.
The heightened
uncertainty led by the recurrent lockdown in certain states is
impacting business operations and lengthening the recovery timeline even
though a majority of the workforce has already returned to the
workplaces for around 42 per cent of the respondents.
The CII
statement noted that a large share of respondents -- around 37 per cent
-- foresee a return of capital spending to its pre-pandemic levels only
by the first half of FY22.
The survey was conducted during
August-September 2020 and saw the participation of more than 150 firms
across all industry sectors, including micro, small, medium and large
enterprises, from different regions.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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