Cyprus deflation deepens in September

Deflation in Cyprus deepened in September, as the consumer price index fell by 1.23% compared with the same month of 2008, having fallen by 0.99% in August and 0.80% in July.
Compared with the previous month, however, prices leapt by 1% as the summer sales came to an end.
The Statistical Service said that the monthly increase in September was mainly owing to increases in the prices of certain clothing and footwear items, fresh fruit and vegetables, electricity, tuition fees of private educational institutions and part-time education coaching centres.
Educational institutions tend to change their prices once per year in September and prices rose faster in the month of September 2009 (3.98%) than in 2008 (1.87%).
Decreases were again recorded in the prices of petroleum products.
For the period January-September 2009, the CPI recorded an increase of just 0.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2008.