For the second quarter of 2021, BCI decreased by 1.7 index points and reached 1.7 after a significant increase in the previous quarter. The highest decline in business confidence is observed in retail trade, followed by the agriculture and construction sectors. The negative change in BCI for Q2 2021 is driven by pessimistic future expectations.
For the first quarter of 2021, BCI increased by 32.1 index points and reached 3.4 after a significant deterioration in the previous quarter. Business confidence improved across all sectors, except retail trade, with the largest increase observed in the construction sector. The positive change in BCI, for Q1 2021, is driven by optimistic future expectations and improved past performance.
For the fourth quarter of 2020, BCI decreased by 18.7 index points and reached -28.6 after a significant improvement in the previous quarter. Business confidence deteriorated across all sectors, except retail trade and financial. The largest decrease is observed in the construction sector. The negative change in BCI, for Q4 2020, is driven by significantly pessimistic future expectations.
For the third quarter of 2020, BCI increased by 17.3 index points and reached -9.9 after a significant deterioration in the previous quarter. Business confidence improved across all sectors, except manufacturing and service. The largest increase is observed in the construction sector. The positive change in BCI, for Q3 2020, is driven by significantly optimistic future expectations.
BCI in the second quarter of 2019 has improved, reaching 27.0 index points, which is 4.4 index points higher than the previous quarter. The highest growth in BCI was observed in retail trade and manufacturing. In the case of retail trade, this advancement in BCI is mostly due to good past performance, while in manufacturing the driver is positive expectations.