Cyprus' is projecting a budget surplus of half a percentage point for 2008, despite slower growth in the banking and construction sectors, Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said Tuesday.
Stavrakis said the island's economic growth would hover at around 3.5 percent, while inflation for the year is expected between 4.0 and 4.5 percent because of high oil and cereals prices.
"Despite challenges arising from the difficult environment abroad, Cyprus' economy remains stable and robust with satisfactory growth, almost perfect employment conditions and low inflation and interest rates," Stavrakis told a Public Companies' Association meeting.
Unemployment was expected to remain unchanged at 3.9 percent, Stavrakis said.
Cyprus posted a surprise 1.5 percent budget surplus at the end of 2007, despite earlier projections of a deficit. The island joined the euro zone on Jan. 1, 2008.
