The local business mood continues to rise for the fourth consecutive quarterly.
The index of business optimism increased modestly to 4.94 percent for the third quarter in 2024 from 4.82 percent points during the prior quarter.
The index is based upon a business sentiment survey which the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) conducts every quarter, involving 200 business owners as well as senior executives from the major industry sectors. They are asked about their outlook on six different areas of the business, including Sales Volumes, Net Profits, Selling Price, New Orders, Inventory and Employment Levels.
The index increased by 3.98 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023.
The transportation, construction and financial sectors were among the most optimistic, as at least four out of six indicators showed positive results for each of these sectors.
Six of the indicators were in the positive zone suggesting a largely negative outlook in the manufacturing industry.
Volume of sales and net profit both fell to less than 3.85 percentage points in the third quarter in 2024, from 0 percentage points in the second quarter, reaching the zone of contraction.
Three of six indicators indicated a slight improvement in the sentiments of the wholesale sector during the third quarter of 2024.
The volume of sales and Net Profit grew to 6.67 percentile points in the third quarter of 2024, up from minus 6.67 percentile points in the previous quarter.
The outlook for the services sector also remained optimistic, with three of six indicators being positive.
An optimistic outlook for local businesses in the third quarter of 2024.
The financial and service sectors are as well, despite continued growth of transportation and construction industries. Externally oriented sectors such as the wholesale trade industry are also slightly more upbeat due to the increase in external demand globally and regionally.
The risk of downturns, like the escalating geopolitical tensions and vulnerabilities are likely to remain.
The indicators of sales volume, selling prices, new orders and job levels were not as high as they were in the preceding quarter.
The decline in inventory levels slowed from less than 2.99 percentage points to less than 1.48 in the third quarter of 2024.
Three out of six indicators have shown improvement on a quarterly basis. The indicators included sales volume, net profit and employment levels. However, the selling price as well as the volume of orders placed on hold were lower.
In the past year the volume of sales and net profit rose up to 5.93 percentage points in the third quarter, from 2.99 percentage points in the year-ago period.
New orders climbed to 5.19 percentage points in the third quarter of 2024 from 4.48 percentage points in the third quarter in 2023. Meanwhile, employment increased to 6.67 percentage points in the third quarter of 2024 from 4.48 percentage points in the year before.
The price of selling dropped to 7.41 percentage points in the third quarter in 2024, from 11.19 percentage points the previous year.