Retail sales in Croatia continued to rise in February 2022 for the 13th month in a row, indicating that the economy continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic restrictions in 2020. However, the growth rate was considerably slower in February compared to previous months, state agency Hina said, citing a report released by the state statistics bureau.

February retail sales inched up by 1.6 percent from January 2022 and by 0.3 percent compared with February 2021. It was the 13th month in a row that spending had increased in year-on-year terms. Before that period, retail sales were falling for 11 months straight due to the coronavirus crisis.

However, the year-on-year increase of merely 0.3 percent confirms a slowdown in growth, which is attributed in part due to the effect of the low base used to calculate the result, and is also due to “growing uncertainty caused by recent geopolitical developments that are having an adverse effect on consumer sentiment and expectations,” analysts at the local branch of Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said in their comments on the report.

Consumer confidence has been affected by record-high inflation rates and the ongoing war in Ukraine. RBA analysts said that similar figures can be expected in March as well.