Croatia posted the highest inflation rate in the eurozone in January, with consumer prices rising 5% year-on-year, as discontent over soaring costs fuels a growing shopping boycott across the Balkans.

Data from Eurostat showed Croatia’s inflation, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), accelerating for the fourth consecutive month, following rates of 2.2% in October, 2.8% in November and 3.4% in December 2024. 

The country’s national statistics agency (DZS) reported a slightly lower annual inflation rate of 4% for January using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with prices inching up 0.1% month on month, according to its latest flash estimate. 

The inflation spike comes as Croatian consumers prepare for the third nationwide shopping boycott in response to high prices. Consumer advocacy group Halo inspektore announced a new one-day boycott, as well as a week-long boycott of leading supermarket chain Konzum, chosen through a consumer poll. 

“Consumers have expressed their demand loud and clear that, in addition to the repetition of the one-day boycott of all forms of shopping on Fridays, shopping chains should also be boycotted for a week,” the group said on its Facebook page.

The movement, which began with a one-day boycott on January 24, has since spread beyond Croatia. Shoppers in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and most recently Kosovo have announced similar protests against rising food and household costs.

Inflationary pressures in Croatia are driven by rising costs of services, which climbed 6.3% in January, according to the DZS data, while food, beverages, and tobacco prices rose 4.7%, energy prices increased 4.5%, and non-food industrial goods excluding energy edged up 0.5%.

Across the euro area, preliminary data from Eurostat suggests inflation in January stood at 2.5%, up slightly from 2.4% in December. Services recorded the highest inflation rate among key categories at 3.9%, down from 4.0% a month earlier, while food, alcohol and tobacco prices saw a smaller increase of 2.3%, compared to 2.6% in December.