Croatia's inflation slows in July but price rises persist

Croatia's inflation rate continued its downward trend in July, reaching 3.9% year-on-year. This marks the third consecutive month of deceleration, following rates of 4.5% in June and higher figures in previous months. The State Statistical Office reported the slowdown on Friday.

While the overall inflation rate decreased, specific components showed mixed annual changes. Energy prices saw a significant increase of 12.2% compared to July of the previous year. Prices for food, drinks, and tobacco also rose by 0.5%. However, prices for industrial non-food products decreased by 1.1% annually.

On a monthly basis, prices for industrial non-food products excluding energy dropped by 3%. Services saw a 1.5% increase, while food, drinks, tobacco, and energy each rose by 0.4%. Harmonized consumer price index data, used for EU comparisons, showed a 3.6% average increase in July compared to the previous year. Croatia's inflation rate was higher than that of Lithuania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Spain in July.

Despite the slowing inflation, consumers are expected to continue feeling the impact of rising prices.