Ukrainian businesses remain positive about their long-term perspectives.

Despite geopolitical instability, long-term economic forecasts for Ukrainian businesses have improved. The optimism index rose from 0.11 to 0.15 points, based on a monthly survey of business leaders by the IER.

This increase is mainly attributed to a reduction in the percentage of companies planning to scale back operations (now just 1.4%) and a rise in those anticipating favorable changes (from 14% to 16%). However, medium-term expectations (for the next six months) have slightly declined, with uncertainty about the overall economic climate increasing by 1.5%.

February marked a significant moment as discussions about a potential end to the war or a freeze in the conflict intensified, contributing to the medium-term uncertainty. Additionally, around 62% of businesses, or two-thirds of those surveyed, are functioning at full capacity or operating at over a 75% load capacity. The proportion of companies with an load capacity below 25% has dropped from 8% to 4%.

The overall industrial outlook indicator, tracked by Eurostat and the OECD, has remained largely stable at 0.12.