Inflation in June 2024 rose by 2.9 per cent over the previous month, marking a continuation of the upward trend that began in April and reaching its highest level since October 2023.

Data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Thursday showed that Cyprus’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped slightly by 0.12 points to 117.72, down from 117.84 in May 2024.

The most significant year-on-year changes were noted in electricity, with a sharp rise of 9.5 per cent, and petroleum products, which increased by 8.6 per cent.

However, compared to the previous month, petroleum products saw a notable decrease of 3.7 per cent.

Over the first half of 2024, the CPI recorded a cumulative increase of 2.1 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Focusing on the analysis of percentage changes, housing, water, electricity, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) categories showed a significant year-on-year increase of 5.9 per cent by June 2024. The restaurant and hotels sector also saw a substantial rise of 5.2 per cent.

In contrast, the most considerable monthly decline was observed in the transport category, which fell by 1.7 per cent.

For the period from January to June 2024, restaurants and hotels and other goods and services categories exhibited the largest increases, with 5.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.

Turning to the impact analysis in units, the most positive influences on the year-on-year CPI change for June 2024 were in the housing, water, electricity, and LPG categories (0.91) and transportation (0.74). Conversely, the largest month-on-month impact was a decline in the transportation category, which decreased the index by 0.31.

Additionally, the year-on-year change for June 2024 was notably affected by petroleum products (0.84), catering services (0.51), and electricity (0.50).

On a month-on-month basis, petroleum products experienced the most significant negative impact, reducing the index by 0.40.