The Central Bank of Malta’s Business Conditions Index shows that in December, annual growth in business activity edged up slightly from a month earlier and stood somewhat above its historical average.
The Bank’s Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, an indicator that monitors economic policy uncertainty by synthesising information gleaned from Maltese news portals, rose and stood above its historical average.
In December, the European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator increased from a month earlier and reached the highest level recorded. Meanwhile, the Employment Expectations Indicator declined, though it remained above its long-term average.
In November, industrial production contracted while annual growth in retail trade moderated. In October, services production increased marginally, following a series of declines observed since February 2025.
The unemployment rate rose marginally in month-on-month terms, but at 3.1% remained low from a historical perspective.
In November, permits for residential buildings rose from their year-ago level. In December, both the number of residential promise-of-sale agreements and the number of final deeds of sale increased on a year earlier.
In November, the annual rate of change of Maltese residents’ deposits and credit moderated compared with October.
In December, the annual inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 2.4%, down from 2.5% in the previous month. HICP inflation excluding food and energy stood at 2.3%. While overall HICP inflation was above that in the euro area as energy inflation in the euro area was negative, HICP inflation excluding food and energy in Malta was in line with that of the euro area. According to the Retail Price Index (RPI), inflation stood at 2.7% in December, up from 2.6% in November.
In November, the Consolidated Fund recorded a smaller deficit compared with that registered a year earlier, due to an increase in government revenue as well as a decline in government expenditure.
The full Economic Update is available here.
