It's been less than five months since Microsoft launched the Lumia 650, a Windows 10 Mobile handset designed for business users - but its price is now falling significantly.

The Lumia 650 went on sale in the United Kingdom in February, priced at £159.99 SIM-free on the Microsoft Store. Today, its price has been cut by £40 (25%), bringing it down to £119.99. There's no indication anywhere on the store listing that this is a special offer, or that the reduction will end at any point.

And it's a similar story on the Microsoft Store site in the Republic of Ireland, where the handset's price has fallen by an even greater amount. Until recently, the Lumia 650 was priced at €229 there, but has now fallen by €80 (35%) to €149. As in the UK, there's nothing to suggest that the Irish price cut is temporary.

Pricing across other Eurozone markets varies. In Germany, for example, the cost of the Lumia 650 matches that of Ireland. In Spain, though, the handset is being sold for €199, while in France, it's currently on sale for €169 - and buyers there can get a further €50 off via a mail-in cashback offer.

But US buyers will be disappointed to learn that there's no Stateside price cut (yet?) for the Lumia 650; the device is still being sold on the Microsoft Store there at its original launch price of $199 SIM-free, and it's the same in Canada - for now at least.

Today's price cuts are the latest in a series of efforts by Microsoft to boost sales of its devices. In the UK, the prices of its Windows 10 Mobile flagships, the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, have been steadily falling since before they went on sale, but Microsoft permanently reduced their prices by 17% a month ago. In the US and Canada, it recently introduced buy-one-get-one-free offers on the 950 and 950 XL.

In the first three months of 2016, Microsoft's handset sales collapsed by 73% year-over-year, and in its earnings call for that quarter, the company's chief financial officer admitted: "Sell-through of our Lumia products was weak, and we exited the quarter with relatively high channel inventory".

Lowering its prices may well help to increase sales of the Lumia 650, and clear out some of that excess stock.