About Portugal Business Confidence Index
In Portugal, the National Statistics Institute (INE) economic climate indicator on three terms moving averages is calculated in order to receive a timely composite indicator for the several sectors of economic activity. It is estimated using balances of questions from the Manufacturing Industry (1179 companies), Trade (1102 companies), Construction and Public Works (822 companies) and Services (1427 companies) surveys. The calculation is based on the factor analysis and the estimated series (the common component) is calibrated using the GDP change rates. The use of moving averages smooths out the series by removing the irregular movements, allowing the detection of the short-term trends.