SME receipts index slips to 44.3 in March

Sentiment eased as logistics weakened.

The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) fell to 44.3 in March from 45.3 in February, staying in contractionary territory.

The Census and Statistics Department said the one-month-ahead outlook DI on business receipts for April stood at 46.9, whilst the current DI on new orders for import and export trades edged down to 46.8 from 47.1. The April outlook DI on new orders for the sector was 47.6.

By sector, current business receipts indices declined across most of the surveyed sectors in March. The steepest fall was in logistics, where the DI dropped to 35.7 from 42.9, whilst import and export trades slipped to 46.3 from 47.4.

A government spokesman said SME business sentiment had eased somewhat in March, reflecting heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The spokesman added that both the current and outlook indices on business receipts had retreated from near two-year highs in the previous month.

The government said the overall employment situation still performed steadily, with the corresponding index improving slightly from February.

It added that continued economic expansion should provide support, even as Middle East tensions are likely to keep weighing on local business sentiment.