From 2016 more detailed insight into developments in consumer prices

From 2016 a more detailed classification of goods and services ECOICOP will be put into use for the National and European consumer price indices CPI and HICP. This classification was developed by Eurostat in cooperation with the European countries and will be used in all European statistics concerning household consumption. Only where the coverage of CPI and HICP differ, these differences will be reflected in the output. At the moment of introduction of the classification ECOICOP, the reference year of the index will be shifted and become 2015=100.

Also from 2016 there will be better correspondence between the national CPI and the European HICP. This is not only because of the use of the same classifications, but also because some of the other differences between CPI and HICP will be removed. The treatment of insurance services in CPI and HICP will become identical. This will lead to lower weights for insurance services in the CPI than before. Also the consumer expenditures by people living in institutional households will be included in the coverage of the CPI.

Other differences between the CPI and the HICP will remain. This concerns expenditures of Dutch citizens abroad (only included in the CPI) and expenditures of foreign visitors in the Netherlands (only included in the HICP). By exception own contributions that people pay for living in the institution will remain out of scope for the CPI, even though they are included in the HICP. Furthermore some consumption groups are excluded from the HICP, but are represented in the CPI (owner occupied housing, membership fees and consumption related taxes). Finally there are some differences in the calculation methods for child care and for health care.

The planned changes will have very small impact on the average price development of the total CPI-basket.

For people using the CPI for indexation purposes little will change. The most visible change is a re-referencing of the index from 2006=100 to 2015=100. From 2016 for indexation purposes the new CPI series can be used. For indexation of contracts on periods ending in 2015 or earlier the use of the old 2006=100 series is recommended.