Economic sentiment in Cyprus slightly improved, says EU report

The economic sentiment in Cyprus for January showed a slight increase, a monthly report released today by the European Commission says.

According to the monthly Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI), which records the trends in various business sectors, as well as the consumers, the economic sentiment in Cyprus for January rose slightly to 80 units from 79.7 in December.

Economic sentiment in the Euro area rose to 95.7 units from 94.1 in December whereas the same index for the whole of the European Union (EU27) rose to 97.1 from 95.0 units in December.

The sentiment in the services sector in Cyprus rose from -10 in December to -8 in January, while retail trade rose from -28 units to -26. A similar improvement was recorded in the consumer sentiment. Expectations in the industrial sector remained unchanged in -13 units.

However, the Economic Sentiment Indicator regarding employment declined sharply from -6 units to -30, as opposed to a three-unit improvement in the Euroarea from -21 to -18.