A drop in fuel prices has yet to be reflected in prices of essential goods, while according to experts’ there will be no price correction this year.
In comments to news site Stockwatch, the director of the Commerce Ministry’s Consumer Protection Service, Constantinos Karagiorgis, said the drop in fuel prices should already be reflected in the services and products businesses offer.
“Despite all this, we have not seen a decline in the prices of basic products such as milk, bread and other necessities.”
Karagiorgis said: “Possibly the delay in the correction of prices of basic products is due to increased demand, as a result of the peak tourist season”.
He also attributed the record rise in inflation to 10.9% in July from 9.6% in June to increased demand from tourists rather than the war in Ukraine, pushing up the cost of living.
The president of the Cyprus consumers association, Marios Drousiotis, does not expect prices to be corrected by the end of the year.
“Historically, the data shows that when prices go up, they come down at a very slow pace, if they do”.
“Following the international decline in the price of grains and transportation, I believe that in the coming months’ prices will stabilise, but I do not foresee any reduction in the consumer price index”.
Drousiotis said the price of beef increased by 30% within the first seven months of the year, while the price of pork and poultry increased by 14% and 17%, respectively.
The price of bread, since the beginning of the year, has increased by 12.5%, while the price of low-fat milk has increased by 6%.
Since 12 July, when fuel prices hit an all-time high, with Diesel exceeding €2 per litre, prices have dropped significantly.
The price of 95 Octane Petrol has dipped 24 cents per litre on average, while the price of Diesel has declined 16 cents.
On Thursday, 95 Octane petrol was sold at an average of €1.576 per litre and Diesel at €1.821
Meanwhile, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) said bills for August were, on average, 1% cheaper than the previous month.
In a statement, the EAC said they expected to see prices stabilise in the coming months as fuel prices are pushed lower.
However, the authority also reminded the public that a VAT discount, from 19% to 9%, implemented by the government ends on 31 August.
