In July, consumer prices in Croatia have decreased by 0.4 compared to the same month last year, while on a monthly basis they fell by 0.8 percent, according to data released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. Consumer prices on the annual basis have again started to fall after two months of stagnation, while on the monthly basis this is the second month of decline in a row, reports Poslovni.hr on August 15, 2015.
Compared to July 2014, the largest decline was recorded for the prices of transport services, 5.9 percent. The prices of clothing and footwear dropped by 1.3 percent, while the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and the prices of education have declined by 0.7 percent.
On the other hand, the largest increase, by 3.4 percent year on year, was recorded for the prices of recreation activities and culture, followed by prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco which increased by 1.8 percent. The prices of communication services have risen by 1.6 percent, health services by 1.5 percent, and restaurants and hotels by 1.3 percent.
According to the analysts of Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA), deflationary pressures in Croatia are still supported by the lower prices of fuel and gas. In July, gas prices were lower by 7.3 percent year on year, liquid fuels prices by 22.1 percent, while the prices of fuels for personal vehicles have decreased by 9 percent. The reason for this is the fact that crude oil prices remain at lower levels than in the same period last year.
If volatile components such as food and energy prices are excluded from the consumer price index, the core inflation rate in July has increased by 0.5 percent. “However, the negative impact of lower fuel prices on the annual growth of consumer prices will be felt through the end of the year. Furthermore, the lower price of gas for households from April will prevent a more significant recovery in the annual rate of inflation”, said RBA analysts. “For the whole of 2015, we expect stagnation in the overall consumer price index compared to average prices in 2014.”
