Croatia's industrial production increased in May 2023 by more than 1% on an annual basis after decreasing for six months in a row.

The Croatian state statistics bureau (DZS) said on Friday that industrial production in May 2023 increased by 4.4% from April 2023 and by 1.2% compared with May 2022.

The annual rise was recorded in three of five sectors.

Energy production increased the most, by 5.9%, followed by capital goods (+4.7%) and non-durable consumer goods (+2.9%). The production of durable consumer goods fell by 13.2% and intermediate goods by 2.1%.

In the year to May, industrial production declined by 1.5% compared with the same period in 2022.

The DZS also reported that retail sales in May increased for the second consecutive month on an annual basis.

Since consumption is the largest component of the Croatian GDP, its increase for two consecutive months indicates a further stable growth of the economy in the second quarter.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Croatian economy grew by 2.8%, rising for nine consecutive quarters on an annual basis.