30/04/2026 08:14:00

Central Bank of Malta issues April Economic Update

Economic sentiment remains resilient and inflation remains stable

Economic activity in Malta remains strong, with services outperforming manufacturing. The Bank's Business Conditions Index indicates that in March, annual growth in business activity remained above its long-term average. Meanwhile, industrial production contracted in February, while year-on-year growth in retail trade accelerated. Services output fell in January following a marginal increase a month earlier. On the other hand, tourism activity in February remained exceptionally strong.

Despite the conflict in the Middle East, confidence indicators continue to indicate very positive sentiment among Maltese businesses and consumers. In addition, uncertainty remains contained. In fact, in March, the European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator edged up and moved further above its long-term average, while economic uncertainty according to the European Commission's Economic Uncertainty Indicator turned negative.

Both supply and demand conditions in the property market remain buoyant. In February, residential permits were higher on a year earlier, but commercial permits were lower. In March, both the number of residential promise-of-sale agreements and the number of final deeds of sale increased on a year earlier.

Labour demand remains high, with the European Commission's Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) above its historical average and up significantly month-on-month. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in February remained unchanged at 3.5% for the third consecutive month, though it was higher when compared with the same month a year earlier.

Malta's inflation rate remained stable during the month of March despite the rise in global energy prices. The annual inflation rate based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) remained unchanged at 2.3% in March, while HICP inflation excluding food and energy stood at 2.4%. Across the euro area, HICP inflation was higher than that in Malta due to an increase in energy inflation. When excluding energy and food prices, HICP inflation in Malta was slightly higher. According to the Retail Price Index (RPI), inflation in March edged up to 2.7%.

In February, the Consolidated Fund registered a significantly higher surplus compared with that recorded a year earlier, due to the timing of corporate tax receipts.

The annual rate of change of Maltese residents' deposits accelerated while annual credit growth moderated in February, compared with January.

The full Economic Update is available here.

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