Croatia’s annual inflation rate slowed to 3.2% in March, down from 3.7% in February, as measured by the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), the country’s statistics bureau said on Tuesday.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4% compared with February, revised data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) showed.
The March reading marks the second consecutive month of decelerating annual inflation, following a period of renewed price pressures that began in October 2024.
After a months-long slowdown through much of last year, inflation picked up in late 2024, rising to 2.2% in October, 2.8% in November, 3.4% in December, and peaking at 4.0% in January 2025, before easing again in February and March.
Among main ECOICOP classification groups, the highest annual increase in March was recorded in the restaurants and hotels sector, where prices rose 9.4%.
Other notable annual increases included recreation and culture and miscellaneous goods and services (both up 5.7%), health (5.4%), education (5.3%), and food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.7%).
Housing-related costs, including water, electricity, gas and other fuels, rose 4.5% year-on-year, while prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco climbed 2.6%.
These gains were partially offset by falling prices in clothing and footwear (-2.7%) and communications (-1.3%).
Measured by the EU’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), prices in March were 4.3% higher year-on-year and up 0.4% from February.
The data shows Croatia continues to record one of the highest inflation rates among euro zone members.
