ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Business Activity Index (BAI) improved to 51.7 points in March despite supply chain bottlenecks, said Rustem Orazalin, director of the monetary policy department at the National Bank on April 4, reported the bank’s press service.
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The BAI is an indicator that characterizes the state of the economy in the real sector while also providing information on the dynamics of economic trends and business cycle turning points.
“Businesses in all sectors witness an increase in new orders and inventories. Improvement in business activity was observed in all sectors except the mining industry. In other fields, positive changes were recorded in all BAI components but the delivery time,” Orazalin said.
Although there was a slight increase to 48.6 points from 46.7 in the mining sector, its index remained negative due to extended delivery times, lower employment, and new production volume.
The manufacturing industry index surged from 49.8 points to 53.1 points, a remarkable increase that moved the index from the negative zone to the positive. The index in the construction and service sectors rose to 53.6 and 51.6, respectively.
The business climate index, an average assessment of current and future business conditions, increased significantly to 16.5 points from 12.8 points. The respondents noted better business conditions in March, expecting a more favorable environment in the future.
