Cyprus exports continue to climb in Q1

Exports of goods from Cyprus continued to climb in the first quarter according to preliminary data for March, rising over the year earlier period by 24.8%, following an increase of 30.3% in the fourth quarter.
At least some of the rise is likely to be from an increase the price of oil, which will have raised the value of re-exports.
However, this cannot be the only reason, since it would also have had a strong impact on imports.
Imports rose year on year by a much lower 2.4% in the first quarter, helping to reduce the trade deficit to EUR 1.21 bln from EUR 1.24 bln in the same period of 2010.
Full data for the first two months show that domestically produced exports rose by 16.6% over the year earlier, thanks largely to a strong rise in exports of pharmaceuticals.