O ICST (Construction confidence index) fell 1.1 point in August compared to the previous month, to 91.6 points, after retreating 1.3 point in July, FGV (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) reported on Tuesday (26). With the result, the quarterly moving average of the index retreated 0.6 point.
A falling confidence It was influenced by both Isa-CST (current situation index), which fell 0.4 point, to 92.1 points, as well as the IE-CST (expectation index), which fell 1.6 points to 91.4 points-the lowest level since May 2021 (89.1 points).
Among Isa-CST components, the current business situation indicator retreated 1.1 point to 90.9 points and the contract portfolio volume advanced 0.3 point to 93.3 points.
On the expectations side, both components retreated: the demand foreseen over the next three months fell 1.5 points to 92.8 points, and the business trend indicator over the next six months retracted 1.8 points to 89.9 points.
“The recent business cycle, whether in the real estate market or in the infrastructure, would in principle guarantee a year of robust growth for the sector. However, there was a worsening indicator of recent evolution of the activity – the falling marks surpassed those of growth,” said Ana Maria Castelo, FGV (Brazilian Institute of Economics) project coordinator, in a report.
According to her, pessimism with demand has also increased and is echoing with the intention of hiring in the coming months.
“The scarcity of qualified labor remains the main current limitation of business, which indicates that the activity remains heated, however, signing of credit access problems have gained relevance in recent months. Thus, the result of the August survey suggests that this robust growth scenario can change from the decision of start -up companies or lengthening the production cycle,” he added.
The NUCI (level of capacity use) of construction was stable in August and remained at 78.2%.
The labor nuci varied -0.3 percentage point, to 79.6%, while from machines and equipment increased by 1.1 percentage point, to 73.3%.
