Inflation fell slightly last October, but is still very high at 14.3 percent compared to a year earlier. That appears from Tuesday published figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The inflation figure means that consumer goods and services were on average 14.3 percent more expensive last month than a year earlier. In September this number was still at 14.5 percent – a record.
The sharp price increase is mainly due to the increasing price of food (an average of 14 percent in a year) and energy (173 percent), although not every citizen feels this equally. For example, the price increases of gas and electricity are measured on the basis of newly concluded contracts, while people with a long-term contract, for example concluded before the start of the war in Ukraine, pay a lot less. Clothing and motor fuels also rose in price: by 9.4 and 7.5 percent respectively.
Central banks
In this case, CBS used the consumer price index (CPI) to measure inflation. Every month it also publishes an inflation rate based on the so-called harmonized consumer price index (HICP), which is used in a European context. The big difference is that the HICP only takes into account rents, and the CPI also includes the costs of living in an owner-occupied home. According to the European measurement method, inflation in the Netherlands was 16.8 percent in October – a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Inflation in the Netherlands and other western countries has been rising sharply for over a year now. Central banks, such as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve, have repeatedly raised interest rates in an attempt to dampen price increases. For example, the European deposit rate for banks is currently at 1.5 percent. In the US, that percentage is currently even higher, between 3.75 and 4 percent.
At the climate summit in Egypt earlier this week, Kristalina Georgieva, director of the International Monetary Fund, said she believes global inflation has peaked – although it is likely to remain high. She believes it is right that the central banks are united in raising interest rates in an effort to lower inflation.
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