Cyprus General Government Fiscal Balance Posts EUR 770.6mn Surplus in January-July 2026

Macro/Political:

• The Overall Turnover Index in Retail Trade in June 2026 increased by 4.2% (y-o-y) and 1.4% (m-o-m). The Overall Volume Index in Retail Trade increased by 1.9% (y-o-y) and 1.4% (m-o-m).
  Source: ELSTAT

• The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July 2026 amounted to 7.9% compared to the upward revised 8.9% in July 2025 (y-o-y) and to the upward revised 8.1% in June 2026.
  Source: ELSTAT

Macro/Political:

• Preliminary data released by CyStat showed that the General Government fiscal balance for the period of January- July 2026 presented a surplus of EUR 770.6 mn (2% of GDP) compared to a surplus of EUR 759.6mn (2.1% of GDP) in the same period of 2025. Primary balance recorded a surplus of EUR 1,069.4mn versus a surplus of EUR 1,042.6mn in the corresponding period of 2025. During Jan- July 2026 total expenditure increased by EUR 343.1 mn (+4.4%) to EUR 8,143.2mn from EUR 7,800.1mn in the corresponding period of 2025. Total revenue increased by EUR 354.1mn (+4.1%) to EUR 8,913.8 mn compared to EUR 7,800.1 mn in the same period of 2025. Particularly, in July 2026 the General government fiscal balance presented a surplus of EUR 326.6mn (Primary balance surplus EUR 359.8mn).
  Source: CyStat

• President of Cyprus Nicos Christodoulides said that the government projects the Cyprus economy to grow by 3.5%, while also announcing new interventions targeting family support, strengthening disposable income and improving citizens’ quality of life. Christodoulides also referred to the pension system reform, which he described as the most significant reform since 1980. As he reiterated, through the reform, the government is pursuing two key objectives: more dignified pensions today and a sustainable Social Insurance Fund for the future.
  Source: StockWatch

• In June 2026, revenue from tourism reached EUR 423.1mn, recording an increase of 0.2% as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. For the period of January-June 2026, revenue from tourism is estimated at EUR 1.22bn compared to EUR 1.37bn in the corresponding period of 2025, recording a decrease of 11.4%.
  Source: CyStat

• According to CNA, a request was made to postpone the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, between President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman. Meanwhile, today’s meeting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot negotiators, Menelaos Menelaou and Mehmet Dana, was also postponed. Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that the Greek Cypriot side had requested a new date for the meeting, on Wednesday, September 9, and that the Turkish Cypriot side had responded positively.
  Source: CNA