The largest increase was recorded by the transport prices, which increased by 16.4% YoY, followed by Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which grew by 12.8%, and Restaurants and hotels, which grew by 11.1% YoY.
The Croatian Bureau of Statistics has released its monthly report on the changes in the CPI (Consumer price indices) for April 2022. On an MoM basis, the prices of goods and services for personal consumption, increased by 2.6% on average. Compared to April 2021, that is, on a YoY basis, they grew by 9.4% on average, while on the annual average they increased by 4.7%. The growth to 9.4% continues the trend of the inflation increasing, marking one of the largest jumps on an MoM basis, but also the highest points recorded since 2008 and the Global Financial Crisis.
CPI (January 2013 – April 2022, %)
Meanwhile, if we were to look at the annual level, the highest growth was recorded in the following segments: Transport, which grew by 16.4%, Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which grew by 12.8%, Restaurants and hotels, which increased by 11.1%, Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, which grew by 9.9%, Housing, water, electricity, and other fuels, which grew by 8.8%, Clothing and footwear, which increased by 7.5%, Recreation and culture, which increased by 5.6%, and finally, Miscellaneous goods and services, which grew by 5.4%.
This growth can be attributed to several factors: When it comes to increased transportation, food, and non-alcoholic beverage costs, as well as housing electricity, and other fuels costs, it can for sure be attributed to the current Ukraine-Russia conflict, which influences the prices of commodities like oil, gas, wheat, sunflower, etc. The growth in Housing related categories can also be attributed to the growth in material costs, especially certain metals. Finally, the increase in restaurants and hotels, as well as recreation and culture is the first sign of the recovery of these segments after all the COVID-19 related measures were completely eased.
If we were to take a look at how these categories contributed to the CPI on average, Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the most (+3.32 p.p.), followed by Transport (+2.41 p.p.), and Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (+1.48 p.p.).
At the monthly levels, the highest increase in the CPI on average was recorded in the Clothing and footwear (+7.6% MoM), followed by Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (+5.3%), and Restaurants and hotels (+3.8% MoM)
CPI change by categories – April 2022 (YoY, %)
Finally, taking a look at the CPI by selected groups, Goods increased by 11.4% YoY, Services increased by 3.8% YoY, Energy increased by 19.3% YoY, and Food, beverages, and tobacco increased by 10.9% YoY. The total increase if we exclude energy would amount to 7.5% YoY, and if we excluded food as well, it would amount to 5.1% YoY.
