Inflation rate drops year-on-year

According to the State Statistics Bureau, the inflation rate in Croatia - as measured by the consumer price index - slowed to 5.8 percent year-on-year in October; the lowest it's been since January 2022.

The drop represents a significant slowdown in consumer prices on an annual basis, considering that in September inflation amounted to 6.7%.

The estimated annual inflation rate for the group including food, beverages and tobacco amounted to 8.1%.

Union leader Mladen Novosel believes the prices of the most common products are, in fact, much higher than the 5.8 percent published by the bureau of statistics.

"Yes, this is a positive trend but it's still far off the mark of where we should be; which is having prices at least remain the way they are and for people to have greater buying-power, as well as higher salaries and pensions.

He warned, however, that considering the state of global conflicts "it's hard to be optimistic about the coming period".

"The price of energy and food and beverages, which together make up 60% of the total retail price index, both dropped. The prices of industrial non-food products grew by 2.4% compared to September, and they were the main generator of inflationary pressures in October," said Goran Šaravanja, economist at the Chamber of Economy.

"On a positive note," he said, "the process of de-inflation has begun. This means we can expect a lower rate of inflation in 2024 compared to this year. This is good for citizens because they'll have more money in their pockets, said Saravanja.

The Croatian National Bank expects a slowdown in inflation in Croatia in the last quarter of 2023 and in the first quarter of next year, which should see a reduction in overall inflation and food price inflation.