Retail sales in Croatia continued to rise in March 2022 for the 14th month in a row and at a faster rate than in February, indicating further recovery of the national economy, the state statistics bureau reported on Friday.

Retail sales increased by 2 percent from February 2022 and by 3.6 percent compared to March 2021.

March 2022 was the 14th consecutive month to see a year-on-year increase in spending, and at a faster rate than the month before, when it increased by 0.3 percent.

“The uncertainty and high inflationary pressure have already impacted individual… indicators such as retail turnover, with its average real growth rate in the first quarter having slowed down to 2 percent,”  analysts at Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said in their comment on the report.

Consumer confidence has deteriorated due to inflation growth and the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, employment will continue to grow and unemployment to decrease at moderate rates, the analysts said.