Newsroom
You can put off buying a new pair of shoes. Filling up the car to get to work or paying the electricity bill is harder to put off. In October, those everyday costs helped push Cyprus’ annual inflation rate to 4.4%, up from 3.7% in September.
Petroleum products cost 30.6% more than in October last year, according to figures released Thursday by the Statistical Service. Electricity and water prices rose 13.6%, while transport costs overall were up 13.7%. The broader category that includes housing, water, electricity, and other fuels rose 10.8%.
The 4.4% inflation rate is an average across a basket of goods and services. How much of that increase a household feels depends on where its money goes. A family that spends a big share of its budget on driving and utilities could feel a bigger squeeze than the headline figure suggests.
Prices rose 1.1% from September to October alone. Agricultural goods recorded the biggest increase over that month, at 3.9%. Clothing and footwear went in the other direction on an annual basis, costing 9.3% less than a year earlier.
Across the first 10 months of the year, consumer prices were 2.5% higher than in the same period last year. October’s figures show how sharply some of the bills people pay week after week have risen.
