Economic sentiment in Cyprus improved in May 2024, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator increasing by 1.6 points compared with April.
According to the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus (CypERC), the increase was mainly driven by stronger business confidence in services.
The increase in the Services Confidence Indicator was attributed to firms’ improved views on their past business situation and their recent turnover.
On the other hand, a small drop in the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator resulted from worsening assessments of past sales and downward revisions in sales expectations.
As regards the Construction Confidence Indicator, CypERC said that it declined, as firms assessed their current levels of order books more negatively and revised their employment expectations downwards, while the Industry Confidence Indicator remained unchanged in May, as the improvement in production expectations was offset by a deterioration in the assessments of the current level of order books and in the views on stocks of finished products.
The Consumer Confidence Indicator rose marginally in May and consumers’ expectations about their financial situation and the general economic conditions in Cyprus improved, however, consumers’ intentions to make major purchases over the next months weakened in May.
Economic uncertainty in Cyprus decreased in May, owing to the lower uncertainty levels registered among consumers and among firms in all sectors, except construction, it says.
