Inflation spikes 5% on energy prices

August inflation in Cyprus spiked by an annual 5%, pushed upwards mainly by rising energy prices.

The Consumer Price Index increased by 1.59 units and reached 104.09 units compared to 102.50 units in July 2021.

It helped Cyprus inflation increase for the fifth consecutive month, the Statistical Service said.

For the eight months January-August, the CPI increased by 1.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, Cystat added.

According to Cystat, compared to August 2020, the largest changes were monitored in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels with 14.4%, Transport 10.8% and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages 8.2%.

In terms of economic origin, the largest changes from last year were recorded in Electricity with 39.8%, Petroleum products 21.4% and Agricultural goods 20.2%.

Pushed by soaring oil prices internationally, electricity prices in Cyprus spiked by 38% in August, while prices were also pushed upwards due to the termination of a 10% discount on electricity bills that ended in September 2020.

Compared with July, inflation rose by 1.55%. However, compared to the July index, the largest change was in Agricultural goods at 16.1%.