GKI said the decline was driven by worsening outlook in the construction sector. This largely canceled the positive effect of a small rise in the confidence of industry, driven largely by a pickup in domestic orders. Outlook in the retail sector remained stagnant.
As a result, overall business confidence was down slightly compared to September but was still significantly higher than a year ago.
Consumers suffered a slightly sharper monthly decline in confidence than businesses, while there was little improvement on the year. Consumer spending plans in October were depressed by fears of rising unemployment and declining real wages over the next 12 months. Consumers also anticipated a rise in inflation in the coming period.
