Annual inflation dips to 9% in September

Cyprus’ annual inflation rate hit 9% in September from 9.6% the month before, keeping it below the EU average of 10.9% and the seventh lowest in the bloc.

The harmonised consumer prices index rose to 8.1% in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2021, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat) show.

In September, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices increased by 9.0% from last year.

Compared to the index of August, the HICP decreased by 1.0%.

The HICP increased by 8.1% annually for the nine months to September.

Compared to September 2021, the largest changes were in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (28.7%) and Transport (13.3%).

Compared to August 2022, the largest price change was recorded in Clothing and Footwear (8.3%).

According to CyStat data, for January – September, the largest price rises were noted in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (22.4%) and Transport (15.7%).

The biggest fluctuations, when compared to the index of September 2021 and the previous month, were observed in Energy, with percentages of 34.3% and -4.9%, respectively.

The euro area’s annual inflation rate was 9.9% in September, up from 9.1% in August.

A year earlier, the rate was 3.4%. European Union’s annual inflation was 10.9% in September 2022, up from 10.1% in August. A year earlier, the rate was 3.6%.

The lowest annual rates were registered in France (6.2%), Malta (7.4%) and Finland (8.4%).

The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (24.1%), Lithuania (22.5%) and Latvia (22.0%).

Compared with August, annual inflation fell in six Member States, remained stable in one and rose in 20.

In September, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from Energy (+4.19 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+2.47 pp), services (+1.80 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+1.47 pp).