Turkish Cypriots spend less on clothing in Sep

Turkish Cypriots appear to have spent less south of the Green Line in September, judging by credit card statistics.
According to data from the credit card company JCC Systems Ltd, plastic card spending using Turkish cards reached EUR 1.66 mln in September 2010, compared with EUR 1.72 mln in September 2009.
The main fall was in expenditure on clothing, which was down 32.8% over the year earlier to EUR 254,250.
Spending on supermarkets, by contrast, was up 14.5% to EUR 392,278, suggesting that it is discretionary spending that is being affected.
For the first nine months of the year, total card spending is up 4.1% to EUR 12.96 mln.
The first crossing across the Green Line that divides Greek and Turkish Cypriots was opened in April 2003. The latest crossing at Limnitis, which will cut travelling time from Nicosia to north-west Cyprus, opens on October 14.