Consumer prices fell on average 0.1% in April 2018 compared to the respective month of 2017, as cheaper products more than offset the impact of more expensive fuel and services, the statistical service said.

Limassol port serves as a model for what Cyprus can achieve as it is one of the largest projects of the island, President Nicos Anastasiades said recently during the inauguration ceremony of the new passenger terminal.

The European Commission said recently it was expecting the Cypriot economy to grow 3.6% this year and 3.3% in 2019, slightly below the Finance Ministry’s forecasts also published recently.

The number of property transactions rose in April 2018 an annual 29% to 655 mainly on a strong performance of the real estate market in Nicosia, the Department of Lands and Surveys said.

The Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak) is the second best young University of Europe, while the University of Cyprus is in third place, according to the influential Times Higher Education rankings.

Cyprus and Egypt will soon be signing an agreement to connect the Aphrodite gas field to the North African country, recent press reports said.

This year will be decisive for Cyprus’ energy plans and the government is looking forward to acting as a bridge between the countries in the region and the EU, Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides was quoted as saying recently.

Cyprus' general government fiscal surplus jumped by 68% amounting to €340.5m or 1.7% of GDP in Q1 2018, due to increased revenue given the continuing economic expansion.

The integration of the EU banking union and the association of capital markets were the two main issues on the agenda of the EU's 28 Finance Ministers meeting held in Sofia, Bulgaria, Finance Minister Haris Gerogiades has said, stressing the need to accelerate the pace on both these directions.

Economic sentiment rose marginally in April 2018, driven by stronger business confidence in services and industry, and firmer consumer confidence, the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre (ERC) said.