Economic sentiment in Cyprus improves in February

In February 2022, economic sentiment in Cyprus improved as the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC) increased by 3.5 points compared with January 2022.

According to a press release of the Economic Research Centre of the University of Cyprus, the increase in the ESI-CypERC resulted from stronger business confidence in services and, to a smaller extent, from confidence improvements in retail trade and industry.

The increase in the Services Confidence Indicator resulted from more favourable assessments of recent turnover trends and upward revisions in demand expectations.

The increase in the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator was driven by improved views on recent sales and upward revisions in sales expectations.

The Construction Confidence Indicator recorded a slight decrease as a result of downward revisions in employment expectations.

The rise in the Industry Confidence Indicator was driven by more favourable views on the current levels of order books and stocks of finished products, despite the downward revisions in production expectations.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator declined marginally. In February, consumers grew more pessimistic about their future financial conditions and future economic conditions in Cyprus; however, consumers expressed stronger intentions to make major purchases in the near future.

In February, economic uncertainty declined in all sectors and among consumers.

Firms’ selling price expectations and consumers’ expectations about price trends remained at high levels in February, indicating the continuation of upward price pressures.