Inflation rate stable at 2.5 percent

• Prices clothes have upward effect on inflation
• Food prices have downward effect on inflation
• Inflation eurozone marginally down

The latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands show that, for the third in a row, the inflation rate was stable at 2.5 percent in March 2012. The rate has hardly changed during the past nine months.

Prices of clothes had an upward effect on inflation in March and were on average 2.5 percent up on one year previously. On an annual basis, clothes prices were 0.5 percent higher in February.

Food prices had a downward effect on inflation. On average, food prices were 1.8 percent higher than in March 2011, but the annual increase was 2.4 percent was 2.4 percent last month.

Inflation according to the European harmonised method (HICP) was 2.9 percent in the Netherlands, the same as in January and February. According to Eurostat, the eurozone inflation rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to 2.6 percent in March. The level of inflation in the Netherlands is still above the eurozone level.