Manufacturing rises for third straight month

Manufacturing output in Cyprus rose for the third month in a row in November 2006, increasing by 4.4% year on year, after a rise of 4.6% in October and 1.3% in September.

For the first 11 months of 2006, however, manufacturing fell by 0.2% compared with Jan-November 2005.

The main driver of growth in recent months appears to be electrical and optical equipment, up by 48% year on year in November and 28% for the first 11 months.

There has also been strong growth in the chemicals sector, with growth up 19% in November and 10% in the first 11 months of 2006.

Within the other categories of industry, electricity, gas and water output continues to grow fairly strongly, at 5% in Jan-November, while mining has risen more slowly, by only 0.5%.

Total industrial output, encompassing manufacturing, mining, and electricity, gas and water, rose by 4.4% in November and by 1.1% in Jan-November.