Our headline SMEI inched up 0.1pt to 49.7 in September as services remained a key drag. Performance sub-index stayed below 50 for a fourth straight month; expectations turned contractionary. Manufacturing activity picked up; most services sectors reported a m/m decline in sales, Standard Chartered’s economists Hunter Chan and Shuang Ding note.
Subdued domestic demand dragged down Q3 performance
“Our proprietary Small and Medium Enterprise Confidence Index (SMEI; Bloomberg: SCCNSMEI <Index>) picked up 0.1pts to 49.7 in early September (the survey closed early due to the Mid-Autumn festival) after falling to a 20-month low in August. The overall performance sub-index picked up by only 0.1pts to 48.9 in September, as manufacturing activity rebounded but services-sector performance weakened. The average performance sub-index edged down to 49.1 in Q3 from 50.8 in Q2, indicating a q/q decline in SMEs’ activity.”
“In addition, the expectations index edged down to 49.6 in September, the first below-50 reading since end-2023. All expectations sub-indices, including sales, new orders and profitability, fell below 50. The average expectations index fell 0.8pts from Q2 to 50.1 in Q3, indicating softer SME sentiment. While the credit sub-index recovered on lower funding costs for SMEs in September, the average reading fell 1pt to 50.5 in Q3 on a deterioration in liquidity conditions.”
Disclaimer: The content above represents only the views of the author or guest. It does not represent any views or positions of FOLLOWME and does not mean that FOLLOWME agrees with its statement or description, nor does it constitute any investment advice. For all actions taken by visitors based on information provided by the FOLLOWME community, the community does not assume any form of liability unless otherwise expressly promised in writing.
Hot
No comment on record. Start new comment.