Netherlands inflation increased to 5.2% in April

The rate at which prices are rising in the Netherlands increased again in April compared to a month earlier. That was mainly because energy prices fell less sharply last month than in March. Prices of food, beverages, and tobacco also rose again, albeit less strongly than in March. Prices of industrial goods also increased.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported in a quick first estimate that inflation amounted to 5.2 percent last month. In March, inflation was 4.4 percent, down from 8.0 percent in February. In December, consumer goods and services were still 9.6 percent more expensive than twelve months earlier. At its peak in September last year, inflation was 14.5 percent.

The average price increase of supermarket products was 13.2 percent last month, compared to 15.1 percent in March. Prices of industrial goods rose by 8.3 percent, compared to 8.8 percent in March. Energy, including motor fuels, on the other hand, became almost 22 percent cheaper after a price drop of over 28 percent a month earlier.

To easily compare with other European countries, CBS also provides inflation figures according to the European harmonized method, which doesn’t include housing rents, among other things. The inflation then amounted to 5.9 percent in April, compared to 4.5 percent in March.

Later today, the European statistics agency Eurostat will release inflation figures for the entire eurozone. In March, annual inflation in the euro area was 6.9 percent.

As inflation is still above the target of 2 percent, the European Central Bank (ECB) will likely keep raising interest rates. However, the size of the next rate hike is still unclear. The ECB will meet on Thursday to discuss interest rates and then make clear whether it will hike them by half a percentage point or go with a smaller increase of a quarter of a percentage point.