ZAGREB, September 3, 2018 – In July 2018, industrial production in Croatia went down 0.9% on the year, annually decreasing for the seventh time in the past nine months, while monthly it fell 4.9%, the national statistical office said on Monday.
In June, industrial production went up 3.1%, after three consecutive months of decrease, and in July it decreased both monthly and annually, Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) analysts said in a comment.
Industrial production was very unstable since the end of 2017, annually decreasing seven times in nine months, going up only in February and June.
Over the first seven months of 2018, industrial production went up 0.2% on the year, which RBA analysts said was modest. They predict that this year’s industrial production growth will be somewhat lower than in 2017, when it increased 1.9%, which will mean that it has slowed down for the second year in a row.
For stronger growth rates, it is necessary to bolster the competitiveness of the entire economy so that the growth of domestic and foreign demand can, to a large extent, be met from domestic sources, RBA analysts said.
