Inflation rate at three-year low in September

The rate of inflation hit a three-year low 0.7 per cent in September, mainly because of the fall in oil prices.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2024 rose by 0.38 points to 118.48, compared to 118.10 in August 2024.

The largest price decrease in economic categories was observed in petroleum products, with rates dropping by 11.40 per cent compared to September 2023, and 4.78 per cent from the previous month.

Τhe most significant year-on-year increase was seen in restaurants and hotels, in which the rate of inflation rose by 5.6 per cent, while the largest decrease was in transportation, which fell by 6.3 per cent.

Compared to August 2024, the highest price hikes were in clothing and footwear (up by 5.3 per cent) and education (up by 2.7 per cent), while transportation experienced the sharpest decline, falling by 3.4 per cent.

The largest positive impact on the change in the CPI in September 2024, relative to September 2023, was attributed to the food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.90) and restaurants and hotels (0.57) categories.

Conversely, the transportation category had the largest negative impact (-1.18).

Month-on-month, the most significant effect was also in transportation (-0.61).

Notably, the largest positive contributors to the CPI increase in September 2024, compared to September 2023, were miscellaneous (0.93), food services (0.56), and fresh vegetables (0.36).

Meanwhile, the largest positive impact on the CPI compared to August 2024 was from Other goods and services (0.71), while the petroleum products category had the most substantial negative impact (-0.51).

For the period from January to September 2024, the CPI saw a 1.9 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023. The most notable changes occurred in the restaurants and hotels (up by 5.7 per cent) and other goods and services (up by 3.2 per cent) categories.