According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, in February 2017, the CPI increased by 0.34 units to reach 98.87 units compared to 98.53 units in January 2017. Compared to February 2016, the CPI increased by 1.7% while for the period between January and February 2017, the CPI also increased by 1.1% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the twelve-month period from March 2016 to February 2017, in comparison to the period from March 2015 to February 2016, the annual average rate of change of the CPI was -0.9%. The corresponding annual average rate of change of the CPI in the previous twelve month period was -2.2%.
As regards the economic origin, when compared to the index of February 2016 the largest changes, were observed in Electricity and Petroleum Products with an increase of 17.5% and 15.9% respectively. In comparison to the index of the previous month, the largest change was observed in Electricity where a percentage of 4.9% was recorded.
Compared to February 2016, the category with the biggest positive change was Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (6.7%), whereas the greatest decrease was noticed in Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (-2.8%).
In comparison to the CPI of January 2017, the category with the largest increase was the Clothing and Footwear (3.9%).
For the period between January-February 2017, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the largest positive changes were noted in: Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (4.7%) and Transport (2.6%).
On the other hand, the greatest negative change was recorded in Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (-2.5%).
The categories with the largest positive effect on the change of the CPI of February 2017 when compared to February 2016 were the following: Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (0.77), Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.49) and Transport (0.47). The category with the greatest negative effect was the Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (-0.19).
The categories with the largest positive effect on thechange of the CPI compared to the previous month, were the Clothing and Footwear (0.30) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (0.16) while Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (-0.10) had the most negative effect.
The following products/services had the most notable positive effect on the change of the CPI of February 2017 compared to February 2016: petroleum products (0.69), electricity (0.46) and vegetables (0.44).
Finally, the products with the most positive effect on the change of the CPI of February 2017 compared to the previous month were clothing (0.27) and electricity (0.14). On the other hand, potatoes (-0.09) and vegetables (-0.06) had the largest negative effect.
Source: InCyprus
