Fear that the housing slump and credit crisis will hurt retail sales and capital investments does not seem to have affected the outlook of Iowa’s business leaders for the next six months.

The Iowa Business Council’s fourth-quarter Economic Outlook Survey Index moved up to 66.3 from 64.7 three months ago. Fifty is the average mark with higher figures showing a positive sentiment. Nineteen corporate members of the business council took the survey during the third week in November.

The survey also shows that all respondents expect their operations to at least maintain sales volumes. However the number of business leaders expecting higher sales levels fell slightly to 68 from 69 in the previous quarter.

The majority (95 percent) expect to increase capital spending, with 79 percent foreseeing “higher” or “substantially higher” levels. This is an increase of 24 percentage points from last quarter. Ninety-five percent of respondents also say they will maintain or increase hiring, with only 5 percent predicting lower employment levels in the next six months.

“The pace of business in other parts of the country may be slowing down somewhat,” said Max Phillips, IBC chair and Qwest-Iowa president, in a press release, “but at this moment the resiliency of Iowa’s strong, diverse economy is paying dividends.”