The economic sentiment in Cyprus improved further in July 2026, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increasing by 0.7 points compared to June, the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) at the University of Cyprus reported on Friday.
According to the latest Business and Consumer Survey, the increase was driven by stronger business confidence in the services and retail trade sectors.
As stated, the increase in the Services Confidence Indicator resulted mostly from upward revisions in firms’ turnover expectations.
It is added that the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator rose for the second consecutive month, owing to improved assessments of firms’ current stock levels and upward revisions in sales expectations.
By contrast, the decline in the Industry Confidence Indicator was largely driven by less favourable assessments of the current level of finished product stocks as well as by lower production expectations.
It is added that the Construction Confidence Indicator declined marginally, mainly reflecting firms’ less favourable views on the current level of overall order books.
It is also noted that the decrease in the Consumer Confidence Indicator was primarily due to consumers’ more negative views on their financial situation, as in July, consumers’ assessments of their recent financial situation deteriorated further and their expectations regarding their future financial situation weakened.
Finally, the Economic Uncertainty Indicator for Cyprus decreased in July as a result of lower business uncertainty among firms in the services, retail trade, and construction sectors. In contrast, consumer uncertainty increased for the second month in a row, with low-income households recording the largest increase in uncertainty about their future financial situation among all income groups, the survey concludes.