Business Confidence Drops as Investment and Orders Fall, rpp.pe Reports

Peruvian business confidence is retreating from July peaks as corporate investment expectations drop to 55.2 points, alongside falling purchase orders and sales, rpp.pe reported in its latest review of the central bank’s business expectations survey.

Investment and Purchase Orders Slide Across Sectors

The July surge past the 70-point threshold following the inauguration of President Keiko Fujimori has given way to successive monthly contractions. According to the central bank survey cited by rpp.pe, the corporate investment indicator for the next three months fell from 59.2 points in July to 56.3 in August, landing at 55.2 points in September. That four-point drop in two months reflects growing corporate caution.

Purchase orders suffered an even steeper single-month decline. The indicator dropped 3.8 points in September to settle at 55.7 points, erasing the gains recorded in August when it hit 59.5 points. Production levels and sales followed the downward trajectory. The sales index moved from 62.3 points in August down to 60 points in September, while production slipped from 59.9 to 57.2 points over the same period.

Peruvian Economic Optimism Drops over Three Months

Short-term optimism regarding the broader Peruvian economy dropped from 62.3 points in July to 57.3 in August and 56.8 points in September. A similar moderation appeared in the 12-month outlook, which slid from 72.1 points in July to 67.6 points in September. Despite these consecutive declines, all main indices remain above the 50-point separator that divides optimistic terrain from pessimism.

Before the downward trend consolidated, Confiep President Jorge Zapata told rpp.pe in July that the new administration presented a historic opportunity to reactive projects and boost investment, provided the government delivered clear signals to investors. By September, those early hopes faced persistent concerns over citizen security, the El Niño phenomenon, the performance of primary sectors, public investment velocity, and fluctuating cost structures.

Hiring Expectations Decline as Consumer Demand Rises

Employment projections show a milder deceleration compared to capital expenditures and sales. Hiring expectations for the three-month horizon edged from 56.6 points in July down to 56.5 in August and 55.8 points in September, marking three straight months of minor declines. Annual hiring sentiment moved from 64.9 to 64.6 points between August and September.

Not all indicators point downward. Actual demand relative to expectations ticked upward from 52.1 to 53.3 points in September, demonstrating that baseline consumer activity keeps certain industrial segments afloat even as forward-looking corporate sentiment cools.