Lithuania's new car sales grew at the fastest rate in the EU in 2017, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed on Wednesday.

Prices of apartments and individual houses in many parts of Lithuania were the highest in 2017 over the past decade, setting new records in some segments of the market and rising above pre-crisis indicators.

Lithuania's crude oil production fell by 12% in 2017 compared with 2016 to 68,000 cubic meters, the country's Geological Service said.

Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LG), the state-run railway company that had its top management replaced at the end of 2016, posted 443.7 million euros in revenue last year, up by 11% year-on-year.

With oil reserves in Western Lithuania shrinking at an annual rate of around 10% and the probability of discovering new deposits being low, the country's oil production is expected to decline further this year, the director of the Lithuanian Geological Service said on January 11th.

Ikea's Lithuanian chipboard and furniture production unit Ikea Industry Lietuva plans to launch construction on a new 46.8-million-euro furniture factory in spring 2018, the business daily Verslo Zinios reported on Thursday.

Lithuania's average annual inflation rate, as measured by the EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was 3.7% in December 2017, up from 3.6% in November, figures from Statistics Lithuania showed on January 10th.

Lithuania's exports rose by 17% in January through November 2017 from a year earlier to reach 24.089 billion euros and its imports grew by 17.5% to 26.356 billion euros, Statistics Lithuania said on January 9th.

Polish oil concern Orlen will invest up to 100 million euros in its oil processing and loading company Orlen Lietuva in 2018, with the company planning to invest in expansion of the Butinge terminal and the Mazeikiai refinery.

The annual growth of industrial production prices in Lithuania was faster than in the European Union (EU) in November 2017, Eurostat said.