Government of Republic of Cyprus : Consumer Price Index shows inflation -0,6% in December 2017

04/01/2018 12:12
Consumer Price Index shows inflation -0,6% in December 2017

In December 2017, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased by 0,41 units to 99,03 units compared to 99,44 units in November 2017. Compared to December 2016,CPI is decreased by 0,6%,while for the period January -December 2017, CPI is increased by 0,5% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.(Table 1)

In the twelve-month period from January 2016 to December 2016, the annual average rate of change of the CPI was -1,4%.

As regards the economic origin, the largest change was recorded inAgricultural goods with a decrease of -9,2% and -5,5% when compared to the index of December 2016 and November 2017 respectively. (Table 2)

Analysis of changes

Compared to December 2016, the largest change was noted inFood and Non-Alcoholic Beverages(-4,3%). (Table 1)

In comparison to the CPI of November 2017, decrease was recorded inFood and Non-Alcoholic Beverages(-2,5%). (Table 1)

For the period January - December 2017, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the largest positive change was noted inHousing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (5,1%). Decrease was recorded inAlcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (-2,2%). (Table 1)

Analysis of effects

The categories with the largest negative effect on the change of the CPI of December 2017 when compared to December 2016 was theFood and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (-0,70). (Table 3)

The category with the largest negative effect on the change of the CPI compared to the previous month, was theFood and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (-0,40). (Table 3)

Vegetables(-0,44) had the most notable negative effect on the change of the CPI of December 2017 compared to December 2016, whereaspetroleum products(0,19) had the biggest positive effect. (Table 4)

Finally,vegetables(-0,27) had the most negative effect on the change of the CPI of December 2017 compared to the previous month. (Table 5)

Table 1
Categories of Goods and Services	CPI (2015=100)		Change (%)
	Nov 2017	Dec 2017	Dec 17/ Dec 16	Dec 17/ Nov 17	Jan - Dec 17/ Jan - Dec 16
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages	98,92	96,47	-4,28	-2,48	-0,29
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco	98,44	98,02	-0,78	-0,43	-2,20
Clothing and Footwear	106,14	106,26	0,63	0,11	-0,56
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels	99,17	98,97	0,68	-0,20	5,14
Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House	96,44	96,40	-1,27	-0,04	-1,77
Health	102,29	102,28	0,84	-0,01	0,82
Transport	96,43	96,81	1,22	0,39	1,45
Communication	97,29	97,24	-1,59	-0,05	-1,76
Recreation and Culture	98,42	98,40	-1,14	-0,02	-0,09
Education	101,91	101,91	1,15	0,00	0,68
Restaurants and Hotels	101,15	101,12	0,89	-0,03	0,82
Miscellaneous Goods and Services	99,32	98,93	-1,31	-0,39	-0,87
General Consumer Price Index	99,44	99,03	-0,58	-0,41	0,54

Table 2
Economic Origin	Weights	Change (%)
		Dec 17/ Dec 16	Dec 17/ Nov 17
General Index	10000	-0,58	-0,41
Agricultural goods	655	-9,21	-5,47
Industrial goods (excl. petroleum products)	4195	-0,71	-0,20
Electricity	319	-3,16	-1,48
Petroleum products	550	4,36	0,95
Water	57	0,00	0,00
Services	4224	0,48	0,05

Table 3
Categories of Goods and Services	Weights	Effect (units)
		Dec 17/ Dec 16	Dec 17/ Nov 17
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages	1615	-0,70	-0,40
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco	213	-0,02	-0,01
Clothing and Footwear	848	0,06	0,01
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels	1230	0,08	-0,02
Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House	750	-0,09	0,00
Health	660	0,06	0,00
Transport	1516	0,18	0,06
Communication	439	-0,07	0,00
Recreation and Culture	645	-0,07	0,00
Education	369	0,04	0,00
Restaurants and Hotels	838	0,07	0,00
Miscellaneous Goods and Services	877	-0,11	-0,03
General Consumer Price Index	10000	-0,58	-0,41
Note: Totals are calculated on the basis of the effects of the categories with infinite decimal figures and rounded up to two decimals when published. Figures may not add to totals due to rounding error.

Table 4
Goods/Services	Effect (units)
	Dec 17/ Dec 16
Positive effect
Petroleum products	0,19
Negative effect
Vegetables	-0,44
Potatoes	-0,10
Electricity	-0,09
Other goods and services	-0,14
TOTAL	-0,58

Note: Petroleum products include liquid fuels (domestic heating and lighting oils) and fuels for personal transport.

Table 5
Goods/Services	Effect (units)
	Dec 17 / Nov 17
Positive effect
Petroleum products	0,05
Negative effect
Vegetables	-0,27
Meat	-0,06
Other goods and services	-0,13
TOTAL	-0,41

METHODOLOGICAL NOTES

Definitions

TheConsumer Price Index (CPI)is compiled to measure the changes of prices over time of consumer goods and services acquired, used or paid by households. Specifically, the national CPI of Cyprus covers the consumption expenses of specific goods and services (shopping basket of goods and services), of the resident households and of the households that intend to live in Cyprus for at least one year. CPI is the official index for the estimation of inflation.

TheInflationshows the change of the CPI when compared with the index of the corresponding month of the previous year.

TheEffectrepresents the amount of the overall change in the General Index which is accounted for by any given category.

Collection

The price collection is carried out only in urban districts of Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Pafos. For each city, the fluctuations in the product prices each month, are weighted according to their population. Specifically, the weights for the four districts are: Nicosia 42%, Limassol 30%, Larnaca 18% and Paphos 10%.

The prices of 850 goods and services are recorded once every month, except for some seasonal products (e.g vegetables and fruits), meat and fuels, whose prices are collected every week (every Thursday).

Base year

The index reference period was 2005=100 for the period between January 2006 and December 2015. From January 2016 and onwards, the base year is 2015=100.

Classification

Until December 2015, COICOP 4 classification was used for the calculation and the dissemination of the CPI. From January 2016 and onwards, CYSTAT is adopting the ECOICOP classification satisfying relevant Eurostat's Regulation. In other words, the lowest level of detail for the classification used in CPI is COICOP 5-digits.

Further information
Constandia Papageorgiou,Tel.: [phone], E-mail:[e-mail]
Andri Eftychiou,Τel.: [phone], E-mail:[e-mail]

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