Central Bank of Malta's June Economic Update shows no annual growth in May business activity

The Bank’s Business Conditions Index indicates that in May, annual growth in business activity was broadly unchanged compared to the previous month, and stood above its long-term average, estimated since January 2000.

The European Commission’s confidence surveys show that economic sentiment in Malta decreased in May, when compared with a month earlier, and stood above its long-term average, which is estimated since November 2002. In month-on-month terms, sentiment fell across all sectors, with the strongest decline recorded in the retail sector.

Additional survey information shows that in May, price expectations stood firmly below their year-ago level in the retail sector, and to a lower extent, in industry and among services firms. By contrast, price expectations in construction were significantly above the level recorded in May 2022.

In April, industrial production grew at a faster pace, while retail trade rose at a slower rate on a year-on-year basis, when compared with March. The unemployment rate returned to the historic low of 2.8% in April, marginally lower than the rate of 2.9%, registered in the previous month, and that of 3.0% registered in April 2022.

Commercial building permits decreased in April, relative to their year-ago levels, and in month-on-month terms. By contrast, residential permits rose.

In May, the number of promise-of-sale agreements rose on a year-on-year basis, while the number of final deeds of sales fell.

The annual inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 6.3% in May, down from 6.4% in the previous month. On the other hand, inflation based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) edged down to 5.7%, from 5.8% in April.