ZAGREB, 2 June (Hina) – Croatia’s inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 5.2% year-on-year in May, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Tuesday, with data indicating a slowdown in overall annual price growth. Eurostat data show that three eurozone member states recorded higher inflation than Croatia in May.

According to the DZS preliminary estimate of the Consumer Price Index, inflation in May 2026 was 5.2% compared with May 2025, while on a monthly basis it fell by 0.2%В compared with April this year.

This marks the end of a months-long trend of accelerating annual inflation, which peaked in April at 5.8% “the highest rate since October 2023” driven mainly by energy prices.

Energy prices down 2% on monthly basis

By main CPI components, the estimated annual inflation rate was 16.9%В for energy, 7.9%В for services, 2.3%В for food, beverages and tobacco, while industrial non-food products excluding energy fell by 0.7%, according to the DZS data.

On a monthly basis, compared with April 2026, service prices rose by 0.4%, energy prices fell by 2%, and industrial non-food products excluding energy declined by 0.1%. Food, beverages and tobacco prices remained unchanged on average.

The DZS announced that final data on the Consumer Price Index for May, based on the ECOICOP classification (European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose), will be published on June 15.

Bulgaria, Lithuania and Greece record higher inflation than Croatia

According to Eurostat’s preliminary estimate, annual inflation in May measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 4.9% in Croatia, while on a monthly basis it rose by 0.1%.

Across the eurozone, average annual inflation accelerated to 3.2% in May. The highest rate was recorded in Bulgaria, the newest eurozone member. Lithuania and Greece also recorded higher inflation than Croatia, 5.1% and 5% respectively.