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Cyprus Construction Price Index Rises Amid Cost Pressures

The latest data from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) shows that the Price Index of Construction Materials in Cyprus reached 118.89 points in January 2026, based on a 2021 average of 100. Compared with December 2025, the index increased by 0.12%, indicating gradual price adjustments across the sector.

Year-Over-Year Growth

On an annual basis, the index recorded a 1.09% increase compared with January of the previous year. The rise reflects ongoing changes in contractor costs and highlights evolving market conditions within the construction industry.

Commodity-Specific Movements

The report provides a detailed breakdown by material category. Minerals recorded the strongest annual increase at 2.91%, followed by electromechanical products at 2.55%. Products made from wood, insulation materials, chemicals and plastics rose by 1.19%, while mineral products increased by 0.97%. In contrast, metallic products declined by 0.49%.

Volatility In Sub-Categories

More pronounced changes were observed within specific sub-categories. Mineral aggregates rose by 8.34%, while stones increased by 4.97% compared with January 2025. Electrical fixtures posted a 4.65% increase. Iron and steel products declined by 1.73%, and ceramics and cement continued to trend lower, falling by 1.47% and 1.38% respectively.

Methodological Insights

The index is calculated as a weighted average based on the expenditure share of sampled materials during the 2021 base year. Prices are collected monthly from a range of suppliers, using the 15th of each month as the reference date and excluding VAT. The Construction Costs Index applies specifically to new residential buildings.

This detailed analysis not only sheds light on current market trends but also offers stakeholders a robust framework for understanding the underlying cost dynamics in Cyprus’s construction materials market.

Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.

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