Economic sentiment deteriorates slightly in November

In November 2022, economic sentiment in Cyprus deteriorated slightly, as the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC) decreased by 0.5 points compared with October 2022, according to the Business and Consumer Survey by the University of Cyprus, released Monday.

The small decrease in the ESI-CypERC was driven by weaker business confidence in services, industry, and, to a lesser degree, retail trade.

Moreover, the survey shows that the Services Confidence Indicator declined, as firms’ views on their past and expected turnover worsened while the small reduction in the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator resulted from a deterioration in firms’ assessments of past sales and downward revisions in sales expectations.

The survey further shows that the rise in the Construction Confidence Indicator was driven by improved assessments of the current levels of order books and upward revisions in employment expectations.

The Industry Confidence Indicator decreased, for the second consecutive month, as firms’ assessments of the current level of order books worsened markedly.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator picked up, as most of its components improved. Consumers assessed their recent financial conditions more favourably and revised their expectations about the country’s future economic conditions upwards, UCy Survey reads.

Furthermore, consumers’ intentions to make major purchases in the near future strengthened.

In November, economic uncertainty in Cyprus increased marginally. Uncertainty in retail trade, construction and industry rose, while uncertainty in services remained broadly stable at the levels registered in the previous three months.

Uncertainty among consumers declined further in November.