Aug 31, 2023 at 6:42 AM Update: 11 minutes ago
Inflation is much lower in August than in previous months. Consumer prices are now only 3 percent higher than one year previously. This percentage has not been this low since September 2021. Last July, inflation was still 4.6 percent.
An important cause of the fall in inflation is that energy and fuels have become 28.6 percent cheaper compared to August 2022, the statistics office reports. CBS.
That doesn’t apply to many other prices. Food, for example, is 10.3 percent more expensive than in August last year. Although this percentage is more favorable than in July, when prices were still 11.6 percent higher than one year previously.
The prices of services have risen by 5.4 percent in one year and those of industrial goods by 6.4 percent.
Bron: CBS
The lower inflation figure is partly the result of a new measurement method by Statistics Netherlands. The statistics office now uses the energy prices that consumers actually pay, whether they have a fixed or a variable energy contract.
Last year, Statistics Netherlands still used the prices of new permanent energy contracts. But they suddenly became much more expensive in the summer of 2022, while consumers with a current contract paid an even lower price. That makes the price drop of energy much greater now.
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Inflation is barely falling in neighboring countries, if at all
In countries such as Belgium and Germany, inflation barely fell or did not fall at all in August. And in Spain, the percentage has even increased for the second month in a row. Inflation also increased in France in August. The question is what has happened to inflation across Europe. The new figures will be published on Thursday afternoon.
The European Central Bank (ECB) implemented nine rate hikes in more than a year to curb inflation. The idea is that this will make borrowing less attractive and companies and consumers will spend less. This should reduce inflation.
In the event of disappointing figures, the ECB may intervene again
According to experts, if the new European inflation figures are disappointing, this will be a reason to add a tenth rate hike to the series in September.
The disadvantage is that the fight against inflation also limits economic growth: after all, the intention is that companies and consumers will spend less. That is why the ECB does not want to increase interest rates more than necessary.
The Netherlands entered a recession in the second quarter of this year, it appeared earlier this month. The economy has already contracted for two quarters in a row.
2023-08-31 06:30:03
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