Consumer prices in Croatia inched up 3.1 percent in August 2021 year-on-year, the highest inflation monthly rate since April 2013, when it was 3.3 percent, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.

The first stronger rise in inflation was recorded in April this year, of 2.1 percent. It slowed down to 2.0 percent in June, before picking up to 2.8 percent in July and 3.1 percent in August.

The rise is the result of the spillover of prices from global commodities markets, growing domestic and foreign demand, and a price convergence towards the EU average, notably with regard to services, analysts at Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said, commenting on the report.

The rise in consumer prices accompanied the rise in industrial producer prices, which grew by 9.3 percent in August 2021 compared with August 2020, their highest jump since January 2011. This year industrial producer prices increased by 3.5 percent in March, 5.8 percent in April, 7.6 percent in May, 7.2 percent in June and 7.9 percent in July.

Transport prices increased the most, by 9.9 percent compared with August 2020.

Compared with July 2021, consumer prices went up by 0.2 percent on average.

In the first eight months of 2021, compared with the same period of 2020, consumer prices rose by 1.7 percent. The greatest contribution to the rise came from energy prices, which increased by 5.2 percent on average. At the same time, consumer prices excluding energy rose by 1.0 percent.