Producer prices of industrial products in Croatia fell by 4 percent in December last year compared to the same month in 2014, marking the 32nd consecutive month of annual decline.
Data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics indicates that producer prices in December were 1.2 percent lower compared to November. Specifically, producer prices in the domestic market in December last year were down by 1.4 percent compared to November, while prices in the non-domestic market fell by 1.1 percent. When energy data is excluded from the calculations, producer prices of industrial products in December last year remained stable compared to the previous month, while on an annual basis, they decreased by 0.4 percent. Compared to December 2014, prices of industrial products in the domestic market are down by 4.4 percent, and in the non-domestic market by 3.3 percent. Overall, they fell by 4 percent on an annual basis in December, continuing their downward trend that has persisted since May 2013.
When viewed by national classification of activities, on an annual basis, producer prices in mining and quarrying fell by 5.1 percent, in manufacturing by 4.2 percent, in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning by 2.6 percent, and in the supply of water, wastewater treatment, waste management, and environmental remediation activities by 1 percent. In their commentary on the CBS report, analysts from Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) emphasize that for the entire year of 2015, producer prices recorded a decline for the second consecutive year, specifically by 3.9 percent compared to 2014.
– Support for depreciation pressures in the domestic market this year will come from weak domestic demand, and will be led by import inflationary pressures from foreign commodity markets, primarily conditioned by significantly lower crude oil prices, conclude RBA analysts.
