The number of registered unemployed fell in August 2016 to 35,786 or 13% compared to the respective month of 2015 mainly on a drop in jobless in the construction sector, the statistical service said.

The number of real estate exchanges in August 2016 rose an annual 50%, the best-performing since 2011, on a strong increase in the number of transactions reported from almost all districts and increased external demand.

Cyprus is pushing a major project to be approved by the EU’s Juncker Plan, with oil storage silos planned for construction in Vasilikos by KODAP.

The Energy Ministry recently announced it would grant a number of scholarships to residents of the Vassilikos area for graduate study programmes in sectors related to energy.

In the first seven months of 2016 the Cyprus government generated a fiscal deficit of €92m on a cash basis, compared to a surplus of €38.5m in the respective period of 2015, the statistical service said.

Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides has said that negotiations on the Cyprus problem are at one of their most critical junctures, since all chapters will be thoroughly discussed by September 14, 2016, during the UN-led talks.

Lending became more affordable for bank customers in Cyprus as interest rates for new loans to households and corporations dropped in July 2016, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

Cyprus is trying to expedite development of an offshore gas field with a view to supplying the Egyptian market, Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said recently.

Capital Intelligence, the Limassol-based rating company, said that it affirmed Cyprus’ B+ long-term foreign currency sovereign rating, maintaining their positive outlook threatened by substantial risks.

Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and Egypt’s minister of Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla recently signed an agreement for the transport of Cypriot natural gas to offshore and onshore installations in Egypt.