Interest rates, strong Re hit confidence: Ficci

The combination of rising rupee and successive hikes in interest rates impacted the confidence of Indian businesses in April-June, just like in the previous quarter, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (Ficci's) latest Business Confidence Survey has found.

The survey, involving 367 companies, has found that the performance, both at the industry and firm levels, has weakened.

The percentage of respondents who felt their business had done moderately to substantially better fell from 68 per cent to 58 per cent during the period.

As for the next six months, around 45 per cent respondents expect higher profits, as against 50 per cent in the previous quarter. Similarly, 49 per cent expect more investment, as against 56 per cent in the previous quarter.

The survey report says such trends show weakening growth impulses and have impacted the Current Conditions Index, which fell from 70.4 per cent in January-March to 65 per cent in April-June.