And precisely in the present day, might produce an increase in the price of fuels. It would be the largest increase in the price of fuels since 2001. Yesterday there were 120,000 trucks stranded on the sides of the Chilean routes in protest by the increase in the price of fuel which has been producing in the last time. The Government of Chile had injected $1 billion for a Fund of stabilization of fuels, something that has not finished to convince the Teamsters. Entrepreneurs are pessimistic, and rightly so, that face an inflationary context with a Central Bank that implied an increase in their rates of reference that would negatively affect domestic demand.
And to make matters worse, the energy problems that crosses Chile have worsened in recent days by the cancellation of shipments of gas from the Argentina. That is why that business confidence is at an all-time low. Indeed, according to monthly indicator of business confidence (IMCE), Commerce, construction, industry and mining prospects fell to 53.4 points in may, the lowest level for that month since recorded. Logically the most pessimistic sector is the industrial sector for which the IMCE indicator showed a value of 47.2. However, despite the pessimism of employers in general, yet one can find companies with good growth prospects, as it is the case of the national company of electricity SA (NYSE: EOC). Endesa S.A., reached during the first quarter of this year, a profit of $77.649 million (about US $160 million), representing a 44.5% inter-annual variation (although it is mainly due to increases in non-operational results). Although the operational result of Endesa Chile has been affected by low hydrology and strong purchases of fuels in Chile, appropriate trade policy and the portfolio of investments of high efficiency has allowed significantly alleviate such effects. The foregoing, allows Endesa Chile to be in proper condition to face the coming challenges and transform them into opportunities for growth.