Dutch inflation stable, European rate plummets

• Inflation in the Netherlands 2 percent
• Higher prices for clothing contribute to inflation
• Eurozone inflation rate at all-time low

According to the latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands, Dutch inflation stood at 2.0 percent in March 2009, the same as in February. The eurozone rate dropped to 0.6 percent.

Clothing prices were 0.9 percent higher in March than one year previously. In February 2009, they were still 3.7 percent down on the price level recorded in February 2008. This had an upward effect on inflation.

Fresh vegetables, diesel fuel and energy became cheaper. The effects cancel each other out. As a result, inflation did not change.

Dutch inflation, according to the European harmonised method (HICP) was 1.8 percent in March, just below the level of the preceding month, when the rate was 1.9 percent. Inflation in the eurozone dropped markedly in March to 0.6 percent, as against 1.2 percent in February. Inflation in the eurozone has not been this low since monitoring began in 1997. The gap between inflation in the Netherlands and the rest of the eurozone is chiefly caused by energy price changes. The downward effect of electricity and gas prices has been much more substantial in the rest of the eurozone than in the Netherlands.