ZAGREB, February 21, 2020 - Croatia's annual inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index, was 2.0% in January 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Friday.
The annual rise in consumer prices was mostly driven by the rise in transport prices (+4.9%), on the back of the rise in prices of fuels and lubricants for passenger vehicles (+9.8%). This was the result of a considerable drop in prices of Brent crude oil at the end of 2018, analysts at Raiffeisen bank (RBA) said.
Compared with January 2019, prices of food and soft drinks increased by 3.4%, with prices of meat going up by 8.6% and those of fruit by 11.7%. Prices of housing, water, electricity and gas were 1.6% higher and those of hotel and restaurant services were up 2.7%.
Year on year, consumer prices rose, albeit at a slower rate, in all other categories except recreation and culture, which recorded a decrease of 0.4%.
Excluding energy, consumer prices increased by 1.6% overall, and without energy and food, they were 0.7% higher.
Compared with December 2019, consumer prices fell by 0.3% on average.
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