Cyprus recorded a current account deficit of €0.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Eurostat, reflecting a deterioration compared with the previous quarter.

Figures released this week showed that the deficit widened from €0.10 billion in the third quarter of 2025, indicating increased external imbalances.

Despite this quarterly decline, Cyprus’ position improved compared with a deficit of €1.40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, pointing to some year-on-year recovery.

Over the course of 2025, Cyprus maintained a persistent current account deficit, with figures showing a deficit of €1.00 billion in the first quarter and €0.40 billion in the second quarter, before narrowing temporarily in the third quarter.

Five game development studios, including Cyprus-based companies in Limassol and Nicosia, have announced the creation of Nova Assembly, a developer-led holding aimed at reshaping the global gaming industry.

The initiative brings together Limassol-based studios Unfrozen, Sad Cat, VEA Games, and Weappy, along with Nicosia-based Game Garden, placing Cyprus at the centre of the new alliance.

The newly formed structure is co-owned and operated by the participating studios, allowing each team to retain full control over its creative direction.

At the same time, the group enables shared expertise across development and marketing, reducing reliance on external outsourcing while strengthening internal collaboration.

The move comes amid widespread layoffs, studio closures and consolidation across the global gaming industry, prompting independent developers to seek more sustainable models.

Industrial producer prices in Cyprus increased in February 2026, even as prices declined across the European Union and the euro area, according to Eurostat.

Specifically, the figures showed that industrial producer prices rose by 0.2 per cent in Cyprus in February 2026 compared with January, marking a reversal from the 0.3 per cent decline recorded in January.

This follows a 0.2 per cent increase in December 2025, pointing to moderate but fluctuating price movements in Cyprus’ industrial sector.

In contrast, industrial producer prices fell by 0.7 per cent in the euro area and by 0.5 per cent in the EU on a monthly basis, highlighting a divergence in price trends.

This came after prices had increased by 0.8 per cent in both the euro area and the EU in January 2026, indicating a shift towards easing price pressures.

Cyprus property sales accelerated in March, with transactions jumping 18 per cent year-on-year to 1,761, up from 1,491 in the same month of 2025.

According to the Department of Lands and Surveys, this growth outpaced the annual increases of 11 per cent and 12 per cent recorded in January and February, respectively.

Sales to foreign buyers, from both within and outside the EU, rose to 732 in March from 607 a year earlier, accounting for 41.6 per cent of total sales, against 40.7 per cent in March 2025.

In the first quarter, sales to overseas buyers increased to 2,044 from 1,671.

The biggest increase in March was recorded in the Famagusta district, where sales rose 59 per cent to 100 from 63 a year earlier.

Nicosia followed with a 30 per cent increase to 442 from 341, while Limassol rose 20 per cent to 572 from 477.

Cypriot demand for Easter travel is holding at moderate but satisfactory levels this year, with bookings slowing in recent weeks as regional developments weigh on sentiment, according to the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents.

The softer pace comes as Cyprus’ wider travel market is also feeling pressure, with Hermes Airports reporting a 15.3 per cent drop in passenger traffic in March, reflecting the impact of the Middle East crisis on tourism flows.

Speaking to Philenews, Antonis Orthodoxou, the association’s press spokesman, said the market was not performing badly, although agencies had expected stronger demand before the war in the Middle East affected the pace of bookings.

“We certainly expected more work, however, due to the war, bookings slowed down,” he said, adding that booking numbers were not lower than last year.

Freedom24 Executive Director Evgenii Tiapkin on Thursday, April 9, presented the company’s European strategy and platform development on the main stage at the Freedom Inside event in Astana.

The session provided a detailed overview of Freedom24’s ten-year journey as a regulated broker, focusing on its operations serving retail clients across the European Union.

The company operates with local teams and national regulatory oversight in each market, ensuring compliance with country-specific requirements while maintaining a unified service offering.

Tiapkin highlighted that the European regulatory environment plays a defining role in shaping the company’s business quality, emphasising its importance for long-term growth and stability.

“The regulatory framework is built on two fundamental principles: the first is investor protection, the second is market protection,” Tiapkin said.

Young people in Cyprus recorded the highest social network usage in the EU, with 98.3 per cent of those aged 16 to 29 reporting active use, according to a report from Eurostat.

The findings revealed that online social networks remain highly popular among young Europeans, with 89.3 per cent of individuals aged 16 to 29 across the EU using such platforms in 2025.

This figure stood significantly above the general population usage rate of 67.3 per cent, highlighting a clear generational divide in digital engagement.

In Cyprus, the gap between young people and the broader population was relatively limited, with 86.5 per cent of the general population using social networks, compared with 98.3 per cent among youth.

This resulted in a difference of 11.8 percentage points in Cyprus, one of the smallest disparities recorded across the EU.

Cyprus can navigate its current economic hardships through the same collective effort that has defined its past recoveries, the head of the country’s largest business group said in an Easter message aimed at bolstering national morale.

Stavros Stavrou, president of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), called for “unity and consistency” between the state, businesses, and society to ensure a prosperous future through responsible entrepreneurship.

Reflecting on Keve’s century-long history, Stavrou emphasised that the institution was “built on the visionary principle that entrepreneurship and social harmony must coexist“.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office has announced that treasury bills under issue TB13A26 will mature on April 24, 2026.

The ministry confirmed that the last day of trading for the instruments will be April 20, 2026.

The announcement relates to the period 23 January 2026 to April 24, 2026, marking the scheduled maturity date and the formal end of trading for the government securities.