The annual rate of inflation in Croatia, measured by the consumer price index, slowed down to 8.8% in April, the national statistical office (DZS) announced on Tuesday.

This represents a slowdown in inflation for the fifth month in a row and its return to a single-digit rate for the first time since April last year.

The DZS published the preliminary estimate of the consumer price index, according to which the inflation rate in April was 8.8% compared to April 2022, while compared to the previous month it was 0.9%.

The annual inflation rate decreased for the fifth month in a row, after reaching a record 13.5% in November last year. In December, growth slowed down to 13.1%, in January inflation was 12.7%, in February 12%, and in March 10.7%.

This is the first time since April 2022 that inflation was in single digits, when it was 9.4%.

Observed according to the main components of the index, the estimated annual inflation rate for the group including food, beverages and tobacco was 14% percent, for industrial non-food products excluding energy was 8.6%, for services 7.8% and for energy 1.1%, according to the DZS.

On a monthly level, namely compared to March 2023, prices of industrial non-food products excluding energy increased by 1.5%, prices of food, beverages and tobacco by 0.9%, and services by one percent. At the same time, according to the preliminary estimate, energy prices fell by 0.4%.

The DZS said it would publish the final data on the consumer price index for April according to the ECOICOP classification (European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose) on 16 May.