Energy prices in particular (+4 percent) played a role. These fell again in December (-6.7 percent year on year), but the decline was less strong than in previous months. Food, alcohol and tobacco became 6.1 percent more expensive in one year, services 4 percent and non-energy industrial goods 2.5 percent.
Core inflation still fell, to 3.4 percent. This concerns inflation excluding the prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco. Many economists consider core inflation to be a better indicator of rising life expectancy, because it reflects the underlying inflation trend.
For Belgium, 0.5 percent is shown in the tables. Together with Italy, this is the lowest figure of all the countries in the euro club. Eurostat does use a different calculation method than Statbel’s Belgian colleagues. At the end of last month it was announced that inflation in our country stood at 1.35 percent in December.
The difference in inflation between the two methods can be explained by a different weighting and composition of the package of goods and services on which these indicators are based. One of the differences, for example, lies in the price charged for heating oil. The European calculation method allows a comparison between the Member States.