Cyprus economy continued to grow in Q4

The Cyprus economy avoided recession by a comfortable margin in the fourth quarter of 2008 according to the latest “flash” estimate from the Statistical Service.
The economy grew on a seasonally adjusted basis by 0.6% over the previous quarter—the same rate as in the third quarter–despite some signs of slowdown, including rising unemployment and a contraction of retail sales in November.
Nevertheless, a growth rate of 0.6% is fairly slow for Cyprus.
Compared with the same period of the previous year, real GDP grew by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, down from 3.5% in the third.
For the whole year 2008, the GDP growth rate is estimated at 3.7%, compared with 4.4% in 2007.
The Statistical Service said that the deceleration was concentrated in financial intermediation (the banking sector) and real estate activities.
It said that a there was a “relatively moderate” deceleration in hotels and restaurants and in retail trade. On the other hand, activities in both construction and broad services “remained at a satisfactory level”.