KYIV, Feb 2 - The Business Activity Expectations Index, calculated by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), in January fell by 7.9 percentage points (p.p.), to 37.6 after growth in December (by 2.1 p.p.) and decline in November (by 4.4 p.p.) and remained below the neutral value of 50 points, which signals the prevalence of pessimistic business expectations.

"Businesses markedly downgraded their expectations for their performance on the back of tighter quarantine restrictions and the decline in economic activity usual at the start of the year. This is evidenced by the business activity expectations index, which the NBU calculates on a monthly basis. The index was 37.6 in January 2021, down from 45.5 in December 2020. For 11 months in a row – since March 2020 – companies' expectations have been below the equilibrium value of 50 points," the NBU said on its website.