In August 2018, consumer prices in Croatia were up 2.1 percent year-on-year, after they had also posted a 2.1 percent growth in July 2018, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.

July and August figures marked a slight drop from June 2018, when inflation was 2.4 percent year-on-year, which was the highest monthly year-on-year growth since April 2013.

In August 2018, the highest year-on-year increases were recorded in transport prices (6.2 percent), and the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (3.4 percent). Prices of tobacco and alcoholic drinks were 2.9 percent up, and prices of restaurants and hotels rose by 2.4 percent.

In their commentary, Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) analysts attributed the rise in transport prices mainly to the global oil market, as the prices of fuels alone were 12.9 percent up year-on-year.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks, which account for the largest share in the consumer prices index – nearly 28 percent, – went up 1.1 percent year-on-year. Prices of edible oils rose by 4.2 percent, and bread and cereals by 2.5 percent.

In August, the overall prices of goods went up 2.3 percent compared to August 2017, while the prices of services went up 1.4 percent.

In month-on-month terms, the prices remained largely unchanged from July 2018.

RBA analysts said that energy prices will remain this year’s main generator of consumer prices growth.

“Along with higher electricity prices, increased inflationary pressures are expected to come from higher price of crude oil, which is usually felt in the consumer price index through the transport prices component,” they said.

Nevertheless, they estimate that this year’s consumer price growth would slow down towards the end of the year, with year-round level of inflation around 1.4 percent in 2018.

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