Dutch inflation rate now sits among the lowest in the EU

The inflation rate in the Netherlands, according to the European calculation method, was 3.4 percent in August. That puts inflation in the Netherlands well below the average for the EU and the eurozone and among the lowest on the content, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.

According to the European statistics agency, inflation in the eurozone was 5.2 percent in August, down from 5.3 percent in July. The European Union’s inflation was 5.9 percent in August, down from 6.1 percent a month before. A year ago, inflation in the eurozone was 9.1 percent and 10.1 percent in the EU.

The Netherlands is now among the countries with the lowest inflation in Europe. Denmark (2.3 percent), Belgium (2.4 percent), and Spain (2.4 percent) came the closest to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target of 2 percent inflation. Cyprus and Finland both recorded 3.1 percent inflation in August, the Netherlands had 3.4 percent, and Greece and Luxembourg both recorded 3.5 percent.

Hungary had the highest inflation last month at 14.2 percent, followed by Czechia (10.1 percent), Slovakia (9.6 percent), Poland (9.5 percent), and Romania (9.3 percent).

The ECB has been increasing interest rates since Russia invaded Ukraine and sparked massive inflation, aiming to bring inflation in the eurozone down to 2 percent. The ECB recently announced the tenth increase in a row but hinted that it would be the last for a while, even though it hasn’t reached its target yet.

Every month, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) publishes two inflation figures for the Netherlands, one based on its own method, which includes housing costs like rent, and one based on the European method, which doesn’t. The CBS figure is more accurate for the actual situation in the Netherlands, the European figure makes it easier to compare with other countries in the EU and eurozone. According to the CBS method, inflation in the Netherlands was 3 percent in August.