Economic sentiment, employment expectations in Malta above long-term average – Central Bank of Malta

The Central Bank of Malta’s (CBM) latest economic update shows the Maltese economy doing slightly better, on the whole, than it was a year prior, and also better than the long-term average across a number of indicators.

The CBM’s Business Conditions Index shows that in November, annual growth in business activity remained broadly unchanged when compared with October and stood slightly above its historical average.

The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator for Malta increased and stood above its long-term average. Meanwhile, the employment expectations indicator increased in November and remained above its long-term average.

Price expectations decreased across sectors, bar in the services and construction sectors.

In October, both industrial production and retail trade rose on a year earlier. In September, annual growth in services production moderated slightly compared to August.

The unemployment rate remained low from a historical perspective. It was unchanged for the third consecutive month and below the rate from a year earlier.

In October, residential permits were above their year-ago level, noted the CBM.

However, in November, both the number of residential promise-of-sale agreements and the number of final deeds were below those of a year earlier.

During the 12 months to October, annual growth in Maltese residents’ deposits accelerated, while growth in credit to Maltese residents fell marginally when compared to the preceding month, reflecting slower growth in credit to general government.

In November, the annual inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) fell to 2.1 per cent. While overall inflation in Malta stood slightly below the euro area average, HICP inflation excluding food and energy stood at two per cent – well below the corresponding rate in the euro area.

According to the Retail Price Index (RPI), used to determine the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), inflation in November declined to 1.3 per cent, from 1.6 per cent in October.

In October, the Consolidated Fund recorded a lower deficit compared with a year earlier, as a rise in government revenue outweighed an increase in government expenditure.

The full report can be accessed here.