World News for Students of English

26-01-2023 07:00

After Croatia introduced the euro on January 1, 2023, Croatians are anxious about a sharp increase in prices.

The prices of goods increased by at least 30%, and people are looking for new jobs to cope. In January, traders began to round prices from the local currency, and most increased. The government threatened sanctions unless traders lowered prices; however, traders blamed inflation and the growing cost of raw materials and energy.

The president of the country’s Consumers’ Association said they observed the prices after January 1, 2023. Energy, oil, electricity, and water prices had no change in the previous two months; however, when the country switched to the euro, the prices went wild, and they continued to rise every day between five to twenty percent, depending on the product.

Over a two-week period, inspectors found about 40% of businesses hiked prices unjustifiably, and they gave fines that totaled more than 250,000 dollars.

Difficult words: inflation (an increase in prices and a fall in the value of money), hike (to grow), unjustifiably (in a way that can’t be accepted).

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