Dutch inflation rate in August at 1.4 percent

According to consumer price index by Statistics Netherlands, the Dutch inflation rate in August 2006 reached 1.4 percent. This is slightly higher than in July, when prices were up by 1.3 percent on July 2005. The Dutch inflation rate has been below the eurozone average for three years.

Clothes and food more expensive

Developments in the prices of clothes and food raised the inflation rate. Prices for fresh vegetables rose rather steeply in August. These products were 16 percent more expensive than the year before. Potatoes were actually even 50 percent more expensive than in August 2005.

Prices for fresh fruit were almost 13 percent higher than in August 2005, while flowers and plants were 9 percent more expensive. The prices of clothing and shoes also increased more than in August last year.  

The influence of energy products op the inflation rate, on the other hand, decreased in August. Petrol became cheaper in August. The year-on-year price increase in August was 3.3 percent, whereas it had been 8.3 percent in July. The price development in gas helped reduce the inflation rate.

2.7 percent rent increase in July

The rents of dwellings increased by an average of 2.7 percent in July. The final outcomes of the rent survey are slightly lower than the preliminary outcomes published by Statistics Netherlands last month.

Dutch inflation rate 1.9 percent according to the European method

The Dutch inflation rate according to the European harmonised method (HICP) was 1.9 percent in August 2006, up 0.2 percent point on July.

Eurostat, the European statistical bureau, expects the inflation rate in the eurozone to reach 2.3 percent in August. The Netherlands remains one of the countries with the lowest inflation rate in Europe. The Dutch inflation rate has been below the eurozone average for three years.