Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Thursday announced that the number of building permits in April 2022 decreased by 10.7 per cent year-on-year.

Building permits during this time fell to 560, down from 627 permits in the corresponding period of last year.

Moreover, the total value of these permits amounted to €144.8 million, with the total area reaching 127,100 square metres in total, compared to €230.6 million and 192,800 thousand square metres in 2021.

With these permits, 601 residential units are scheduled to be constructed. Building permits are an essential indicator of future activity in the construction sector.

Between January and April 2022, 2,511 building permits were issued, compared to 2,524 in the corresponding period of the previous year, reflecting a drop of 0.5 per cent.

The total value of these permits amounted to €748.2 million, showing a decrease of 1.6 per cent and the total area by 6.7 per cent.

Between January and April, the number of residential units showed a decrease of 7.4 per cent year-on-year.

Inflation in Cyprus in June moved closer to double-digits, primarily due to the soaring electricity and energy prices, which continue to be pushed higher by the war in Ukraine.

According to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat) released on Thursday, the annual inflation rate climbed to 9.6 per cent in June.

In addition, the Consumer Price Index reached 112.4 units, up from 111.37 units during the previous month.

Regarding the rise of 9.65 units, compared with June 2021, approximately 55 per cent of the impact is attributed to fuel prices (3.84 units) and electricity (1.55 units).

Between January and June 2022, the CPI increased by 7.8 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the report added.

Moreover, the largest annual changes by economic origin, when compared to the index of June 2021 were observed in petroleum products with 46.1 per cent, electricity with 40.4 per cent and agricultural goods with 7.3 per cent.

In comparison to the index of the previous month, the largest positive change was observed in petroleum products with 7.9 per cent.

The largest negative change was seen in agricultural goods with a 7.8 per cent decrease.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, July 7 with negligible profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 67.46 points at 12:47 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.03 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 40.37 points, which represents an increase of 0.02 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €9,150.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the alternative and hotel indexes rose by 0.15 per cent and 0.88 per cent respectively, while the main and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Cyprus Cement Company (-0.8 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (no change), Salamis Tours (+1.11 per cent), Pandora (+3.33 per cent) and Vassiliko Cement Works (no change).