Nicosia: The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in Cyprus experienced a decline of 1.5 points in May compared to April, primarily due to a further weakening in business confidence within the services sector. This is according to figures released by the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus (CypERC).
According to Cyprus News Agency, the Services Confidence Indicator dropped for the second consecutive month in May. CypERC noted that firms’ assessments of their recent business situations, including turnover, continued to worsen, and firms’ turnover expectations became less optimistic.
The Retail Trade Confidence Indicator remained unchanged in May. A downgrade in sales expectations was offset by improved assessments of the current stock levels, preventing an overall decline in confidence within this sector.
CypERC figures indicate a small decline in the Construction Confidence Indicator, attributed to a sharp worsening of firms’ views on their order book levels. This decline occurred despite a significant upward revision in employment expectations for the second consecutive month.
A slight increase was observed in the Industry Confidence Indicator, owing to upward revisions in production expectations. Additionally, the Consumer Confidence Indicator rose slightly as consumers’ assessments of their recent and expected financial situations showed improvement.
The Economic Uncertainty Indicator for Cyprus saw a decline in May, driven by reduced uncertainty among both firms and households. Economic uncertainty decreased across all sectors except construction, where uncertainty remained at the low level recorded in April. Notably, uncertainty among low-income households declined markedly in May, according to the figures.