According to the latest data from the Cyprus Statistical Service released on Wednesday, January 18, the Construction Materials Price Index reached 134.23 points in December 2023 (on a 2015 basis = 100), an increase of 0.14% compared to the previous month.
In addition, the Index increased by 0.45% compared to the same month in 2022.
The largest price increases among building materials in the last month of 2023 were recorded in the following product categories:
- Minerals, up 13.98%,
- wood products, insulating materials, chemicals and plastics - up 0.45%,
- mineral products - by 5.8%,
- minerals - by 13.72%.
In contrast, metal products and electromechanical products recorded declines of 7.39% and 0.14%, respectively.
The price index of construction products reflects the change in prices in the construction of objects of various types of economic activity.
It is worth noting that from January to December 2023, the Index increased by 2.91% compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, this is mainly due to an increase in the prices of the following materials: Portland cement (+39.39%), slabs, mosaics and concrete bricks (+14.61%), gravel and sand mix for road paving (+13.89%), gravel crushed stone (+12.63%) and commercial concrete (+12.13%).
At the same time, in contrast, the prices of some materials have decreased in 2023 compared to 2022. Among them: construction iron (-18.66%), structural mesh (-12.44%), and structural steel (-12.27%).
It should be recalled that the increase in the cost of building materials used in residential construction on the island is primarily due to the price dynamics on the world market, in which the construction sector of Cyprus is deeply invested.