HICP up 2.1% y-o-y in January on restaurants, hotels

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP),  an indicator of inflation and price stability, rose by 2.1% in Cyprus in January this year, compared to January 2023, and decreased by 1.2% month-on-month from December 2023 to January, the statistics department Cystat said.

Compared to January last year, the largest year-on-year positive change was in restaurants and hotels (5.8%), followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+3.6%) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%), with all remaining categories slightly up, whereas the largest decrease was in transport (-1.3%) and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (-0.3%).

Compared to December 2023, the biggest month-on-month change was in clothing and footwear, down 13.7%, and transport, -2.7%. All other categories were flat or  slightly improved.

As regards economic origin, the largest change in January compared to January 2023 was in services (+4.0%) and food-alcoholic beverages-tobacco (+3.2%), with energy in negative territory (-2.9%) and non-energy industrial goods (-0.1%).

Compared to the previous month, the largest change in January was in non-energy industrial goods (-4.2%), energy (-2.0%) and services (-0.3%), with food-alcoholic beverages-tobacco in positive territory, up 0.3% from December 2023.

HICP is compiled according to a methodology that has been harmonised across EU countries and measures the changes of prices over time of consumer goods and services acquired, used or paid by households and tourists. The HICP is calculated according to a harmonized approach and methodology laid down by a series of regulations of EU.

The index in the Euro area for the last month is based on Eurostat’s flash estimate and the primary goal is, according to the ECB, to maintain price stability, defined as keeping the year on year increase HICP target on 2% over the medium term.