In February 2024, Cyprus experienced a modest inflation increase of 1.8%, primarily driven by the services sector. This follows significant de-escalation in the previous months, with inflation rates showing a decrease in November and December 2023, and January 2024. Despite the increase, inflation remains below the European Central Bank’s target of 2% for the Eurozone.

According to the Statistical Service, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in February 2024 rose by 1.03 points, reaching 114.93 points compared to 113.90 points in January 2024.

It’s noted that inflation in November 2023 saw a significant drop, falling to 1.71% on an annual basis, from 3.47% the previous month. Similar trends were observed in December 2023, with an increase of 1.64%, and in January 2024, with an increase of 1.69%.

For the January – February 2024 period, the CPI recorded a 1.8% increase compared to the same period last year.

According to the Statistical Service, the largest change in economic categories compared to February 2023 was in Services, with an increase of 3.7%. Compared to the previous month, the greatest change was in Agricultural Products, rising by 5.6%.

More specifically, compared to February 2023, the greatest change was seen in the Restaurants and Hotels category (6.2%), as reported by the Statistical Service.

Compared to January 2024, the largest changes were observed in the Clothing and Footwear (3.1%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (2.7%) categories.

For the January - February 2024 period, compared to the same period last year, the most significant changes were in Restaurants and Hotels (5.9%) and Other Goods and Services (3.7%).

Furthermore, according to the Statistical Service, the categories that had the most significant positive impact on the CPI change in February 2024, compared to February 2023, were Restaurants and Hotels (0.62) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.43).

The categories with the greatest impact on the CPI change compared to the previous month were Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.60) and Clothing and Footwear (0.22).

The most significant impact on the CPI change in February 2024, compared to February 2023, was from Catering Services (0.60).

Finally, Fresh Vegetables (0.38) had the most significant impact on the CPI change in February 2024 compared to the previous month.