Nicosia: Inflation in Cyprus rose to 3.5% in August 2026, with petroleum product prices recording a significant annual increase of 20.3%. The Statistical Service released this data on Thursday, highlighting a notable rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which increased by 0.93 points from 102.32 points in July to 103.25 points in August. On an annual basis, the CPI increase stood at 3.52%, while the inflation rate for the January-August 2026 period reached 2.08%.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the largest annual increase among economic categories was observed in petroleum products, with a rise of 20.31%. This was followed by electricity and water, which saw a 6.01% increase. Conversely, industrial products, excluding petroleum products, experienced a slight decline of 0.41%. On a monthly basis, petroleum products increased by 6.88%, while electricity and water saw a decrease of 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%. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages category saw a rise of 3.81%. In contrast, prices for Clothing and Footwear experienced a decline of 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 contribution to inflation, Restaurants and Accommodation Services had the largest positive impact on an annual basis, contributing 3.18 percentage points. This was followed by Recreation, Sport, and Culture at 2.82 points and Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 1.86 points. On the other hand, Health had the largest negative impact at -2.62 points, followed by 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, contributing 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).