Services, construction boost econ sentiment in May

Economic sentiment in Cyprus improved in May for the second consecutive month on stronger business and consumer confidence, according to the benchmark index compiled by the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus. The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC) rose by 4.2 points to 100.6 points from April’s 96.4 and 94.3 in March, the lowest in more than a year. However, the ESI for May was still far below the monthly index throughout the past 12 months. The May increase was driven by stronger business confidence – primarily in services and construction – as well as by improved consumer confidence. As regards the sub-categories, the increase in the Services Confidence Indicator resulted from firms’ higher expectations regarding their turnover and, to a lesser extent, from improved assessments of their recent business situation. The Retail Trade Confidence Indicator recorded a slight decline, reflecting a deterioration in firms’ views on recent sales, despite upward revisions to their sales expectations. The increase in the Construction Confidence Indicator was due to improved assessments of current order book levels. The Industry Confidence Indicator rose marginally, as firms’ views on the current levels of order books and stocks of finished products improved. On the other hand, the Consumer Confidence Indicator rose in May, reflecting improvements across all its components. Compared with March and April, consumers’ views on their recent and future financial situation were less negative, while their expectations regarding economic conditions in Cyprus became less pessimistic. Finally, consumers’ intentions to make major purchases increased in May. The Economic Uncertainty Indicator for Cyprus decreased in May to 17.3 points, owing to lower business uncertainty among firms in all sectors except retail trade, and to reduced consumer uncertainty across all income groups. The post Services, construction boost econ sentiment in May appeared first on Financial Mirror.