The monthly Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI-CypERC), calculated by the university’s Economics Research Centre increased by 3.6 points to 111.4 in August, compared with the previous month.

The July Indicator dropped to the year-low of 107.8, with the highest point in the indicator recorded in the past 12 months seen in December 2018, when it peaked at 116.2.

Compared to August 2018, sentiment has improved 1.7 points from 109.7.

The ERC said the monthly increase in the Services Confidence Indicator was driven by firms’ more favourable views on their past performance (business situation and demand) and upward revisions in demand expectations.

Marginal increase in the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator resulted from improved assessments regarding their stock volumes.

A hike in the Construction Confidence Indicator was mainly due to upward revisions in employment expectations.

A decrease in the Industry Confidence Indicator resulted from more negative assessments of the current level of order books and downward revisions in production expectations.

Another negative reading was in the Consumer Confidence Indicator that dropped marginally mainly due to less optimistic assessments of the future economic conditions in Cyprus and consumers’ intentions to make major purchases in the near future weakened.

Source: Financial Mirror