Inflation in the Netherlands above 10 percent for the first time since 1975 | Abroad

According to the statistics office, consumer goods and services were 10.3 percent more expensive in July than in the same month a year earlier. In June inflation was still 8.6 percent. The increase was mainly due to the fact that energy prices have recently skyrocketed and house rents have risen faster.

Last week, CBS already reported that inflation based on the European measurement method has clearly risen again after a few months of decline. That inflation figure even rose to 11.6 percent. But in that calculation, the costs for housing, such as rents, were not taken into account.

This while rents are pushing up the price level even further. This is because the rents on regulated leases were not allowed to be increased as of 1 July last year. Furthermore, the maximum rent increase for a private sector home is higher this year than last year. All this led to housing rents rising by 3 percent last month compared to a year ago, where the plus last year was only 0.8 percent.

Energy prices have been rising rapidly in the Netherlands for some time, especially since the war in Ukraine. This is due to the increased uncertainty about the supply of gas from Russia. In July, energy was 108 percent more expensive on an annual basis. This made the plus much stronger than the 84 percent of June. And this despite the fact that the VAT on energy in the Netherlands has been temporarily reduced from 21 percent to 9 percent as of last month.

Consumers also saw prices in the supermarket rise further. Foods were more than 12 percent more expensive than a year ago. In particular, products containing grain, dairy products and ice creams, for example, rose relatively sharply in price. In addition, package holidays became clearly more expensive and people had to spend more on the costs of banking services.