Holidays drive May inflation bump

Inflation in May rose to 1.1 percent according to the consumer price index, reports Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Prices in the month were pushed up by increasing holiday and travel expenses, leading to the highest level reached in the last seven months. The sharp increase in prices during May is almost entirely explained by a spike in holiday, air travel and accommodation expenses. Because Pentecost this year was in May, there were more holidays this past month than in other years. This increased the demand for leisure travel and brought vacation prices up, the CBS says. The inflation is at 0.7 percent according to the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). This index is used for policy calculations by the European Central Bank. Last month, HICP inflation was at 0. Netherlands inflation is currently higher than the Eurozone average, which is at 0.3 percent.