Economic sentiment rose in November, as improved confidence in the retail and industry sectors and among consumers offset weaker confidence within the construction and services sectors, albeit still at a very high level, the Central Bank reported on Friday.

The latest Economic Update was based on information available up to December 12.

In October, retail sales and tourism activity grew at a slower pace in annual terms, while industrial production declined. Labour market conditions remained favourable. The number of registered unemployed edged down further.

Price pressures picked up in October, with the annual rate of inflation based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rising to 1.5%.

Maltese residents’ deposits rose by 15.7% when compared with a year earlier, while growth in credit to residents rose marginally to 2.7%.

As regards fiscal developments, the cash-based Consolidated Fund registered a small surplus in the first 10 months of 2017.

The Economic Update is available on the website of the Central Bank of Malta www.centralbankmalta.org.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.