Prices in Cyprus rise only 0.1 per cent year on year in July

Cyprus recorded the lowest inflation rate in the European Union in July 2025, figures by both Eurostat and the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) showed on Wednesday.

Specifically, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in Cyprus rose by just 0.1 per cent during this time, when compared to the same month in 2024.

In addition, on a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.4 per cent between June and July of this year.

Compared to July 2024, the largest increases were seen in the categories of restaurants and hotels, which rose by 5.9 per cent, and recreation and culture, which climbed by 4.2 per cent.

The steepest decreases were observed in clothing and footwear, which fell by 7.1 per cent, and housing, water, electricity, and gas, which dropped by 4.4 per cent.

In comparison with June 2025, the most significant changes were recorded in clothing and footwear, which decreased by 13.4 per cent, transport, which rose by 3.8 per cent, and recreation and culture, which increased by 3.4 per cent.

For the period of January to July 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, recreation and culture showed a rise of 6.9 per cent, restaurants and hotels increased by 5.4 per cent, while clothing and footwear fell by 5.6 per cent.

The largest change by economic category compared to July 2024 was in the energy sector, which declined by 9.7 per cent.

Compared to June 2025, the sharpest change was in non-energy industrial goods category, which dropped by 3.8 per cent.

At the European level, the euro area annual inflation rate stood at 2.0 per cent in July 2025, unchanged from June but down from 2.6 per cent a year earlier, according to Eurostat.

In the European Union as a whole, annual inflation reached 2.4 per cent in July 2025, up slightly from 2.3 per cent in June but lower than the 2.8 per cent recorded in July 2024.

Cyprus, with its 0.1 per cent rate, registered the lowest inflation in the bloc, followed by France at 0.9 per cent and Ireland at 1.6 per cent.

The highest annual inflation rates were seen in Romania at 6.6 per cent, Estonia at 5.6 per cent, and Slovakia at 4.6 per cent.

Compared with June 2025, annual inflation declined in eight member states, remained stable in six, and increased in thirteen.

Eurostat reported that in July 2025, services contributed the most to the annual euro area inflation rate, adding 1.46 percentage points.

Food, alcohol, and tobacco followed with a contribution of 0.63 percentage points, while non-energy industrial goods contributed 0.18 percentage points.

Energy, on the other hand, had a negative contribution of 0.23 percentage points.

Cyprus’ inflation trajectory over the past year highlights a sharp slowdown, with the rate standing at 2.4 per cent in July 2024 before dropping to 0.4 per cent in May 2025, 0.5 per cent in June 2025, and 0.1 per cent in July 2025.

In contrast, Greece saw a steady increase in prices, with inflation rising from 3.0 per cent in July 2024 to 3.3 per cent in May 2025, 3.6 per cent in June 2025, and 3.7 per cent in July 2025.