The Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), Christodoulos Patsalides, has called on banks to weigh both social considerations and the need to bolster the competitiveness of the economy in their pricing strategies. Warning against neglecting these factors, he suggested that failure could damage the sector’s reputation.
Speaking with the Cyprus News Agency, and ahead of the ECB Board’s upcoming meeting on monetary policy, Patsalides highlighted the Eurozone’s sluggish growth, adding that there “seems to be room for interest rate cuts.”
In a separate trend signaling broader economic resilience, the total number of registered motor vehicles in Cyprus saw a 13.2 per cent rise during January-September 2024, totaling 38,819 compared to 34,280 in the same period last year.
Yet, in September alone, vehicle registrations saw a minor dip of 3.9 per cent year-on-year.
Furthermore, Cyprus’ trade deficit narrowed by 18.5 per cent in the January-August period, dropping to €4.98 billion from €6.12 billion year-on-year, as reported by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).
This reduction aligns with a 15.5 per cent decrease in total imports, totaling €7.58 billion compared to €8.97 billion in 2023.
On Thursday, the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) faced a downturn, with the general index at 195.77 points by noon, reflecting a 1.16 per cent drop.
Similarly, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index declined by 1.19 per cent, trading at 119.26 points.
In sector performance, the hotels index saw a notable increase of 4.14 per cent, while the alternative market posted a modest gain of 0.23 per cent.
Conversely, the investment companies index recorded a significant loss of 4.80 per cent, and the main market fell by 1.69 per cent.
Among the most actively traded securities, Bank of Cyprus attracted substantial interest with a transaction volume of €150,803, up by 2.99 per cent.
Hellenic Bank followed with €85,199 in trades, marking a 2.70 per cent decline. Demetra Holdings, which traded €13,664, dropped by 4.88 per cent, while Petrolina Holdings decreased by 1.25 per cent with €6,320 in transactions.
Lordos Hotels recorded an impressive gain of 8.55 per cent, with a trading volume of €3,882.
