Cyprus credit card spending rose 1% y/y in May

Credit card spending by locals rose in May according to data from the credit card company JCC.
Local plastic card use by Cyprus residents increased by 1% over the year earlier to EUR 144,409,913 (EUR 144 mln) in May, having fallen by 5% in April.
In the period January-May, credit card spending by locals was up by 2% to EUR 760.9 mln. Local card spending fell by 3% in 2009.
Expenditure by foreigners in Cyprus rose by 4% to EUR 42.9 mln, having stagnated in April.
For the first five months of the year, spending by foreigners was up by 3%.
In 2009 spending by non-residents had fallen by 16% to EUR 412 mln.
Expenditure abroad by Cypriot residents continues to record an increase.
Residents of Cyprus spent EUR 465.6 mln abroad in the first four months of the year quarter, a rise of 13% compared with the same period of 2009.

Most credit card spending goes on supermarkets

Meanwhile, data on merchant turnover show that that by far the highest proportion of spending in January-May (20.9% of sales volume) was spent in supermarkets.
The second highest proportion (12.4%) was spent on clothing.