According to data published by the European Commission the business confidence index of Estonia was 103.1 points in February, 1.1 points higher than in January, the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI) said.
Estonia's business confidence improves in February
27th February 2013, 18:38
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The seasonally adjusted figures show confidence as having improved month on month among industrial companies and deteriorated among construction and retail sector companies as well as consumers in Estonia.
The confidence indicator moved up also in the European Union and the eurozone, but remained lower in both than the long-term average or 100 points. The index for the EU, 92.0 points, was up 1.2 points month on month, while in the euro area it was 91.1 points, an improvement of 1.6 points.
Of the major European economies Britain recorded a deterioration by 0.5 percent compared to January. Germany moved up 2.5 points while France, Spain and Italy posted increases of 1.3 points, 1.5 points and 0.3 points, respectively.
Only the three Baltic countries, Germany and Malta posted readings for February above the long-term average of 100 points.
Countries that are the main destinations for Estonian exports meanwhile boasted higher business confidence than the EU average. The value of the index for Latvia was 106.1 points, off 0.4 points during the month, for Lithuania it was 103.0, up 0.8 points, for Sweden 98.7, up 3.6 points, and for Finland 93.8, up 1.0 points.