Croatia experienced a further acceleration in consumer price inflation in December, marking the highest level in eight months, as reported by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
The consumer price index saw a year-over-year increase of 3.4 percent in December, which is an uptick from the 2.8 percent increase observed in November.
This was the most significant inflation rise since April, where prices climbed by 3.7 percent.
Annual price growth for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased to 5.1 percent, up from 4.8 percent in the previous month. Additionally, housing and utility costs grew more rapidly at 2.8 percent compared to the 2.3 percent rise seen a month earlier.
Transport costs experienced a rebound with an increase of 1.6 percent following a 0.5 percent decline in the previous month.
On a monthly scale, consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent rise in November.
For the entire year of 2024, the average annual rate of inflation was recorded at 3.0 percent.
Meanwhile, EU-harmonized inflation rose to 4.5 percent in December from 4.0 percent in November. On a monthly basis, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased by 0.2 percent.
