Croatia among group of countries with highest price increases

Inflation in the EU and the Eurozone accelerated in January, and Croatia once again ranked among the countries with the strongest price increases, alongside Romania, showed Eurostat data on Monday.

At the EU level, the annual inflation rate measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which allows comparisons between member states, was 2.8 percent in the first month of this year.

In December, prices at the EU level rose by 2.7 percent.

In the Eurozone, consumer prices were 2.5 percent higher in January than at the beginning of 2024, said Eurostat confirming its preliminary estimate. In December, they had risen by 2.4 percent.

In January 2024, the annual inflation rate in the EU was 3.1 percent, and in the Eurozone 2.8 percent, Eurostat tables show.

In January, the highest price increase in the Eurozone was in services, by 3.9 percent, slightly lower than in December.

Fresh food prices also rose slightly, by 1.4 percent.

Energy prices rose by 1.9 percent compared to the beginning of last year. In December, they remained at the level of the end of 2023.

Core inflation was 2.7 percent in January, as in the previous four months.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the EU were stable; while in the Eurozone they decreased by 0.3 percent, statisticians calculated. In December, they increased by 0.3 and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Croatia along with Romania

Hungary recorded by far the highest annual inflation rate in January, at 5.7 percent. Romania recorded the strongest price growth in the EU throughout last year, and in January it fell to second place with an inflation rate of 5.3 percent.

Croatia is also close, where consumer prices measured by the HICP in January were 5.0 percent higher than in the same month in 2024. In December, they increased by 4.5 percent on an annual basis.

In January 2024, prices measured by the HICP in Croatia increased by 4.8 percent on an annual basis.

A monthly comparison shows a steady price growth in Croatia in January, by 0.2 percent compared to the previous month.

In January, prices also increased by more than four percent on an annual basis in Belgium, Poland and Slovakia.

The lowest annual inflation rate was recorded in Denmark in January, at 1.4 percent. Ireland, Italy and Finland follow with annual price increases of 1.7 percent.

Source: HRT