Cyprus inflation rate tumbles again in January

The consumer price inflation rate in Cyprus fell four a sixth consecutive month in January, reaching just 1.1% compared with January 2008, after recording a rate of 2.1% in December.
The inflation rate peaked at 5.6% in July 2008 but has been falling ever since, mainly as a result of lower oil prices.
Transport prices in January were 8.7% lower than in the same period of 2008.
Housing water and electricity and gas prices showed a small decline of 0.1% compared with the same period of the previous year. On a monthly basis they fell for the third consecutive month in January, by 2.5%.
A slowdown in the general economy could also have been behind the 5.3% drop in clothing and footwear prices compared with the same month of 2008. Compared with the previous month, clothing and footwear prices fell by 24%.
January is normally a period for sales, therefore a drop in prices in normal. However, the fact that prices were considerably lower than in the same period of last year shows how steep the cuts have been.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, however, have been less quick to fall. In January 2009 they were still 9.4% higher than in the same month in 2008 and 3.2% higher than in December.
On the other hand prices at restaurants and hotels do seem to have followed the general trend. Prices at hotels and restaurants were 5.6% higher in January, compared with a peak of 9.2% higher in June 2008.