Cyprus credit card spending up by 7% y/y December

Credit card spending by locals accelerated in December according to data from the credit card company JCC.
Local plastic card use by Cyprus residents increased by 7% over the year earlier to EUR 216,590,621 (EUR 217mln) in December, having risen by 3% in November and 8% in October.
For 2010 as a whole, credit card spending by locals was up by 3% to EUR 1.9 bln. In 2009, local card spending had fallen by 3%.
Expenditure by foreigners in Cyprus rose strongly, increasing by 16% to EUR 23.4 mln in December, having leapt by 24% in November and 10% in October.
For the whole of 2010, spending by foreigners was up by 7% to EUR 439.6 mln.
In 2009 spending by non-residents had fallen by 16% to EUR 412 mln.
Meanwhile, residents of Cyprus spent EUR 1.18 bln abroad in 2010, a rise of 12% compared with 2009.
Data on merchant turnover show that that by far the highest proportion of spending in January-December (20.5% of turnover) was spent in supermarkets.
The second highest proportion (12.2%) was spent on “other retailers.”
Clothing was next with 12.0% and DIY and household fourth with 8.1%.