Cyprus industrial turnover inches up, but only owing to Mari effect

The industrial turnover index reached 111.7 in August (base 2005=100), recording an increase of 0.8% compared with August 2011.
However, the increase in the overall index was entirely the result of a 26.8% jump in electricity turnover in August. This in turn must be related to electricity price hikes imposed after the ammunitions blast in July 2011 that blew out the main power station and led to massive price levies on consumers.
Manufacturing turnover, by contrast, dropped by 5% over the year earlier in August 2012, while mining and quarrying, which is heavily reliant on the building sector, fell by 50.5%.
For the period January-August 2012, total industrial turnover was also down, falling by 1.9% compared with the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the price index of construction materials in October fell by 0.32% over the previous month. In January – October 2012, the index rose by 0.49% compared with the same period of 2011.