The Construction Cost Index (CCI) increased by 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, - the National Statistics Office (GeoStat) said on March 26.

“The change was largely due to a 13.4 percent increase in average monthly nominal salaries of employees in the construction sector, which contributed 3.64 percentage points to the total index change. Besides, the prices were 1.8 percent higher for construction materials. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 the CCI posted a 2.6 percent increase.

This change was mainly attributable to a 5.1 percent price increase for construction materials, with a relevant contribution of 2.8 percentage points to the overall index change. In the mentioned period, the average monthly nominal salaries of employees in the construction sector were 1.5 percent lower, contributing -0.46 percentage points to the annual index change. The following table shows the CCI for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter of the previous year, as well as the contributions of cost categories to the total index,” Geostat said.