CYPRUS: Economic sentiment down in February, construction up

Economic sentiment in Cyprus deteriorated in February 2017 as the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC) decreased by 1.9 points compared with January 2017.

 
The decline resulted from the worsening of business confidence in services and retail trade, and the weakening of consumer confidence, according to the monthly survey of the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus
The Services Confidence Indicator declined due to firms’ less optimistic assessments of past demand and downward revisions of turnover expectations.
The Retail Trade Confidence Indicator decreased as a result of deteriorating assessments of current stock volumes and less optimistic responses concerning future sales.
The Construction Confidence Indicator improved due to firms’ more favourable assessments of future employment plans. The increase in the Industry Confidence Indicator was driven by less pessimistic assessments of current orders and upward revisions of production expectations.
The Consumer Confidence Indicator decreased as a result of less optimistic replies regarding the future labour market conditions, the future financial situation of households and the general economic conditions in Cyprus over the next 12 months.