Industrial Producer Prices Increased by a Record 24 Percent in June

Industrial producer prices in June jumped by 24 percent compared to the same month in 2021, marking the 16th consecutive month of annual growth, and it is also the highest growth rate since the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) began tracking these data in 2011.

Annual producer price rates, which are a good predictor of inflation, have been continuously rising since March last year – at that time, their growth was 3.5 percent, and in the following months, it intensified, reaching 16 percent in December last year, 17.1 percent in January this year, 17.2 percent in February, 19.5 percent in March, 21.9 percent in April, and 23.7 percent in May.

Compared to May, industrial producer prices in June were one percent higher.

Statistics show that the rise in producer prices was largely influenced by energy prices. Specifically, when comparing producer prices for industrial products overall, excluding energy, they were 0.7 percent higher in June compared to May, and 9.6 percent higher compared to June 2021.

Industrial producer prices in foreign markets in June were 1.4 percent higher on a monthly basis, while they increased by 15.8 percent on an annual basis.

In the domestic market, producer prices in June rose by 0.8 percent compared to May, while they increased by 30.8 percent compared to June 2021.

On an annual basis, according to major industrial groupings, the highest increase in producer prices in the domestic market was for energy, which rose by 90 percent. This was followed by an increase in prices of intermediate products by 11.5 percent, non-durable consumer goods by 10.2 percent, durable consumer goods by 9.9 percent, and capital goods by 4.8 percent.

In comparison to May, in June, producer prices of non-durable consumer goods in the domestic market increased by 1.4 percent, durable consumer goods by 1.1 percent, energy by 0.5 percent, capital goods by 0.5 percent, and intermediate products by 0.4 percent.