Dutch inflation drops to 2.9% in November

The cost of daily life rose by an average of 2.9 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported based on a quick estimate. Inflation was lower than in October, when it fell to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent in September.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices fell by 0.8 percent in November. CBS’s quick estimate is based on still-incomplete data. The final inflation figures for November will be published on December 9.

Energy and fuel prices rose by 0.9 percent in November. This was less steep than the 2.1 percent increase a month earlier. Food, beverages, and tobacco prices rose by 3.1 percent, following a 3.8 percent increase in October. Prices in the service sector rose by 4.3 percent in November, following a 4.5 percent increase a month earlier. Industrial goods rose 0.5 percent in price, following a 0.4 percent increase in October.

Based on the European calculation method, Dutch inflation fell to 2.6 percent last month, from 3 percent in October. The European calculation method is slightly different from CBS’s. The method for measuring inflation agreed upon within the European Union does not include the costs of living in an owner-occupied home.

Later today, the European statistics office Eurostat will release preliminary figures on consumer prices in the eurozone in November. In October, inflation in the eurozone fell to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent in September.

Inflation in the Netherlands has been above the European average for some time. This is partly due to a sharper increase in the prices of energy, food, beverages, and tobacco in the Netherlands.

Inflation is important for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate policy. In October, inflation remained slightly above the central bank’s 2 percent target. According to president Christine Lagarde, the ECB is in a good position to keep inflation under control. The central bank, therefore, kept interest rates unchanged at the end of October. No interest rate change is expected for December either.