Cyprus Economic Sentiment Up in December

According to the Business and Consumer Surveys conducted by the Economics Research Center of the University of Cyprus, the Services Confidence Indicator rose due to firms’ more positive assessments of past business situation as well as because of more optimistic views regarding firms’ turnover over the next three months, CNA reported. The Retail Trade Confidence Indicator increased mainly as a result of more favorable views regarding firms’ past sales. The Construction Confidence Indicator improved due to less pessimistic assessments of the current level of order books. A decrease in the Industry Confidence Indicator was driven by the deterioration of firms’ views of the level of their current stock of finished products. Finally, the Consumer Confidence Indicator remained unchanged. The more optimistic views on future economic conditions in Cyprus and future labor market conditions, as well as improved savings expectations, were offset by the deterioration of consumers’ assessments of their future financial situation.