EU boycott of Russian oil will push consumer prices even higher

If the European Union decides to boycott Russian oil this week, Netherlands residents can expect even higher food and fuel prices and for extreme price increases to last even longer, De Telegraaf rep[orts.

Netherlands residents will notice the oil boycott first when refueling their vehicles, energy consultant Cyril Widdershoven said to the newspaper. But oil is also an important raw material for other products, like plastic.

Energy specialist Jiles van den Beukel of The Hague Center for Strategic Studies expects diesel drivers to be hit hardest. "That market is much tighter than the one for petrol."

And the higher fuel prices will push inflation, as it will cost more to produce and transport products.

ABN Amro is reworking its inflation calculations to include a possible boycott of Russian oil, economist Jan-Paul van de Kerke said to the Telegraaf. "Our current estimate for the whole of 2022 is around 5 percent. But that will clearly go up, especially if there is a boycott of Russian oil."