Inflation in Cyprus rose to 3.5% in August 2026, according to data released by the Statistical Service on Thursday, with petroleum product prices recording an annual increase of 20.3%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.93 points in August, reaching 103.25 points from 102.32 points in July. On an annual basis, the CPI increase stood at 3.52%, while inflation for the January-August 2026 period reached 2.08%.
The largest annual increase among the economic categories was recorded in petroleum products, at 20.31%, followed by electricity and water at 6.01%. By contrast, industrial products, excluding petroleum products, fell by 0.41%. On a monthly basis, petroleum products increased by 6.88%, while electricity and water declined by 1.20%.
Among the main categories of goods and services, Transport recorded the largest annual increase, at 11.36%, followed by Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, at 6.86%, and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, at 3.81%. By contrast, prices for Clothing and Footwear fell by 6.29%.
Compared with July, Transport prices increased by 5.13% in August, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.70%, while Clothing and Footwear declined by 1.52%.
In terms of their contribution to inflation, Restaurants and Accommodation Services had the largest positive impact on an annual basis, at 3.18 percentage points, followed by Recreation, Sport and Culture at 2.82 points and Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 1.86 points. On the other hand, the largest negative impact came from Health, at -2.62 points, Information and Communication, at -1.67 points, and Clothing and Footwear, at -1.07 points.
At the level of individual products and services, Recreation Services had the largest positive impact on annual inflation, at 2.95 points, followed by Catering Services at 2.81 points and Rents at 1.52 points. Negative impacts were recorded by Mobile Communication Services (-1.53), Insurance (-1.13) and Pharmaceuticals (-0.94).
Compared with July, Fuels and Lubricants had the largest positive impact on the CPI in August, at 0.51 points, followed by Passenger Air Transport at 0.29 points. The main negative impacts came from Clothing Items (-0.10) and Electricity (-0.05)
