The Central Bank of Aruba (CBA) concluded its Business Perception Survey (BPS) for the first quarter of 2022. The BPS assesses the economic sentiments of local businesses.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Business Perception Index (BPI), comprising the current and short-term economic conditions, rose further by 1.4 index points to 107.9, reflecting more optimistic business sentiments. The upsurge in business sentiments resulted from increases in both current and short-term future economic conditions (See Chart 1).
The current economic condition index noted an increase of 1.0 index points to 106.9, up from 105.9 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The short-term future economic condition index grew by 1.8 index points, i.e., from 107.3 in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 109.1 in the first quarter of 2022 (See Chart 2). The percentage of respondents expecting positive economic growth in the next 12 months increased by 6.1 percentage points to 50.0 percent.
The complete report of the Business Perception Survey is available on the website of the CBA (https://www.cbaruba.org/).
