Cape Verde’s economic climate indicator continued its downward trend in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the country’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

The economic climate indicator, which measures business confidence, stood at minus 14 points in the fourth quarter, down from minus 10 points in the previous quarter. That is the lowest figure since INE started collecting data in 2002.

The indicator has been dropping since the beginning of 2014.

All the business sectors surveyed posted negative results, except for manufacturing. Business confidence in this sector was up in year-on-year terms, standing at plus 19 points. The survey also pointed to an increase in production and employment in manufacturing during the first quarter of 2015.