Consumer prices in Croatia were 4.1% higher in March 2024 than in the previous year and 0.9% higher than in the previous month. This was announced by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics in its second estimate of the consumer price index, confirming the first estimate published at the beginning of April.

Looking at the main divisions of the ECOICOP classification, the highest average annualised increases in consumer prices were recorded in restaurants and hotels (+10.7%), miscellaneous goods and services (+6%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, health (+5,6% in each department), education (+5.4%), transport (+5.2%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.5%), leisure and culture (+4.4%), furnishings, household goods and routine household maintenance (+3.3%) and communications (+3.2%).

On a monthly basis, the strongest average increase was recorded for clothing and footwear (9.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.4%), restaurants and hotels (1.3%), miscellaneous goods and services (0.9%) and transport (0.8%).

The rise in prices at monthly level was mitigated by a fall in prices in the areas of leisure and culture (0.8%) and communications (0.1%).

According to the main components of the index, prices rose on an annualised basis by 6.6% for services, 4.7% for food, beverages and tobacco, 2.5% for industrial goods excluding energy and 1.3% for energy.

On a monthly basis, prices for industrial goods excluding energy rose by 2.4%, for services by 0.4%, for food, beverages and tobacco products by 0.3% and for energy by 0.2%.

In March 2024, prices for goods and services for personal use, as measured by the harmonised consumer price index, rose by an average of 4.9% compared to March 2023. Compared to February 2024, they rose by an average of 0.9%.