The annual inflation in Cyprus recorded an increase in December 2009.

According to the figures published on Friday by Eurostat, inflation in Cyprus was 1.6% in December 2009, up from 1.0% in November.

These figures show that Euro area annual inflation was 0.9% in December 2009, up from 0.5% in November, while a year earlier the rate was 1.6%

Monthly inflation was 0.3% in December 2009.

The annual average rate of inflation in 2009 was 0.3%, down from 3.3% in 2008.

EU annual inflation was 1.4% in December 2009, up from 1.0% in November.

A year earlier, the rate was 2.2%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in December 2009.

The annual average rate of inflation in 2009 was 1.0%, down from 3.7% in 2008.

In December 2009, the lowest annual rates were recorded in Ireland (-2.6%), Estonia (-1.9%) and Latvia (-1.4%), and the highest in Hungary (5.4%), Romania (4.7%) and Poland (3.8%).

Compared with November 2009, annual inflation rose in twenty Member States, remained stable in four and fell in two.

The lowest 12-month averages up to December 2009 were registered in Ireland (-1.7%), Portugal (-0.9%) and Spain (-0.3%), and the highest in Romania (5.6%), Lithuania (4.2%), Hungary and Poland (both 4.0%).