The Companies Survey for the first quarter of 2015 reflects stability in the rate of expansion of business sector activity, as seen in the weighted net balance[1] which remained virtually unchanged compared with the previous quarter (Figure 1 and Table 1). There are negative net balances in some industries, such as hotels, manufacturing and trade. In contrast, net balances are positive in the transport and communications industry and in the services industry. The stability in activity during the first quarter of 2015 is seen in domestic sales and in exports. The expectations reported by companies in the current survey are for increased activity at a more accelerated pace in the next quarter , particularly in the trade and services industries.
To full report[1] The results are analyzed by means of a “net balance”—defined as the difference between the percentage of companies, out of all the responses, reporting an increase and the percentage reporting a decline. In calculating the net balance, the direction of the change reported by the companies, but not the strength of the change, is taken into account. Thus, a net balance of zero indicates stability in activity; a positive net balance indicates an increase, and a negative net balance indicates a decline. The strength of the change can be inferred from the size of the net balance.