According to the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) released on 15 September of its second estimate of the Consumer Price Index, consumer prices in Croatia were 7.8% higher in August 2023 compared to August 2022m marking the first increase in annual inflation after eight months of decline, Croatian media report. This confirms the initial estimate published on 31 August regarding the annual inflation trend, while slightly revising down the monthly rate, initially reported at 0.6%.The DZS data shows that the inflation rate in August 2023 was 7.8% higher than in August 2022, while compared to the previous month of July, prices were up by 0.5%, HRT reports.The DZS data also shows that the annual inflation rate has risen for the first time in eight months after reaching a record 13.5% in November 2022, slowing to 13.1% in December 2022, and 12.7% in January 2023, 12% in February, 10.7%  in March, 8.9% in April, 7.9% in May, 7.6% in June, and 7.3% in July.Looking at the major categories of the European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose (ECOICOP), all categories experienced an increase on an annual basis. The highest average increase in consumer prices was observed in the restaurant and hotel category, at 14.2%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 11%, clothing and footwear at 9.9%, and various goods and services at 9.4%.Prices in the recreation and culture category increased by 7.7%, in the furniture, household equipment, and routine household maintenance category by 7.5%, in health by 6.6%, in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 6.2%, and in alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 5.5% The mildest increase was recorded in the communication category, at 3.5%, and in transportation, at 3.3 %.On a monthly basis, the DZS data revealed that transportation prices increased the most on average, by 2.9%, followed by communication, which increased by 1.4%. Restaurants and hotels showed a 0.7% increase, while the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages, increased by 0.5%. Recreation and culture increased by 0.4%, and various goods and services increased by 0.3%. The mildest monthly increases, at 0.2%, were seen in the categories of food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco. On the other hand, prices in the clothing and footwear category decreased by 4.2%, largely due to seasonal discounts. (ICE ZAGABRIA)

Fonte notizia: HRT and Poslovni dnevnik online edition 15/9/2023