Inflation increased slightly again last month: on average, prices rose by 3.2 percent compared to January 2023. reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Thursday. In December inflation was still 1.2 percent.
Energy prices have had a major influence on inflation in recent years. Initially, the price level rose due to rising prices in 2022, while the price ceiling resulted in lower energy prices from January 2023. Because the inflation rate is always calculated by comparing prices from exactly one year ago, inflation was lower last year.
Now that it has been exactly one year since the price ceiling was introduced, the impact of energy price fluctuations on inflation decreased in January 2024. Without taking energy prices into account, inflation in the so-called 'rapid estimate' by Statistics Netherlands was 3.5 percent. The final figures will follow on February 8.
Compared to December 2023, consumer prices rose by 0.5 percent last month. CBS does note that prices may differ per season. For example, airline tickets are more expensive during holiday months than in months outside the holiday season. The prices are then higher, but there is no structural price increase. For this reason, the differences between two consecutive months are often greater than the annual inflation rate.
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