CCLEI, Cyprus’ Composite Leading Economic Index accelerated in August, registering annual growth of 0.8%, following the annual gains of 0.5% and 0.4% recorded in July and June 2024 respectively.

According to a press release by the University of Cyprus’ Economics Research Centre (ERC) which drafts the index, in August 2024, the CCLEI continued its positive annual growth. As noted, nearly all components of the Index, with the exception of the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in Cyprus, contributed to this upward trend.

Domestically, the index was driven significantly upwards by the annual gains in property sales contracts, temperature-adjusted volume of electricity production, tourist arrivals in Cyprus, credit card transactions, as well as retail sales volume.

On the international front, the rise in the Confidence Index in the euro area, along with a decrease in Brent crude oil prices in August 2024 compared to August 2023, further supported the Index’s growth, the ERC added.

The CLEI Index is designed to provide early warning signals for the turning points of business cycles i.e., early evidence of the turns in economic activity. The Ιndex comprises of several leading economic activity variables whose changes tend to lead the changes in the overall economic activity and which are evaluated on a regular basis.