Albania’s economic sentiment index inched down by 0.8 percentage points (pp) in August, to around 8 pp above the long-term average, after a 2.9 pp increase in July, the central bank said on Monday.

The decline reflects drops in the industry confidence indicator, by 4 pp to 2 pp above average; construction, which lost 2 pp to a 12 pp above average, and the service confidence indicator, which decreased 2.1 pp to 15 points above the historic average, Bank of Albania said in its monthly business and consumer confidence survey.

Trade confidence, however, rose 5.4 percentage points to 14 percentage points above the historic average, partially offsetting the overall decline.

Consumer confidence edged down 0.5 pp, remaining just above its historic average. The indicator declined during this month, primarily due to the downward trend in confidence indicators across the industry, as well as the construction and services sectors.

The reduced consumer confidence also affected this decline, though to a lower extent. On the contrary, confidence in the trade sector increased significantly this month.

The Industry Confidence Indicator remained around 2 pps above the historical average. The less positive assessments of businesses operating in the industry on the current industrial reduction, along with lower optimistic expectations for order books from exports, led to the fall in the industry indicator in August 2025. Expectations on selling prices in the future have been revised upward compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, businesses in this sector reported a significant decline in expectations for future employment. This indicator fell as a result of a decline in businesses’ appraisals of both the current construction activity and order books. Businesses operating in construction increased their expectations for future selling prices and employment.

Meanwhile, the services confidence indicator, despite monthly fluctuations, stands around 15 percentage points above the historical average. The decline in the services confidence indicator reflected the less optimistic appraisals of services-related businesses on both the current performance of their activity and the current demand level. Expectations on employment in this sector were also revised downward. Meanwhile, expectations for future prices were revised upward.

The trade confidence indicator extended the strong upward trend observed in July. At its current level, the trade indicator stands around 14 pps above the historical average. The increasing appraisals on both current business performance and future employment expectations mainly contributed to the current value of the trade confidence indicator. Expectations for future prices remained broadly unchanged compared to the previous month.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator stands 0.5 pps above the historical average. Consumers revised downward their assessments of both the future general economic situation of the country and their expected financial situation. Their appraisal of current major purchases inched down in August 2025. Expectations for overall future prices were revised slightly downward.