2023-10-30 10:44:58
Inflation fell from 2.39% in September to 0.36% in October. The reason is the drop in energy prices.
According to Statbel, the national statistics office, inflation in Belgium stood at 0.36% in October. This is the lowest level recorded since January 2021, when it was at 0.26%. This is also a little lower than the most recent forecast from the Planning Bureau, which predicted 0.4% in October.
This sharp drop in inflation is the result of the decline in energy products, electricity and heating diesel in the lead. However, energy weighs proportionally more heavily in the index basket in Belgium than in other European countries.
Core inflationwhich does not take into account the evolution of the prices of energy products and unprocessed food products, remains, on the other hand, high. It stood at 6.55% in October, compared to 6.95% in September. However, it is this parameter that interests central banks the most in guiding their monetary policy.
Food inflation has risen sharply over the past year. And the situation has not yet returned to normal. Inflation for food products (including alcoholic beverages) reached 8.98% this month, compared to 11.15% in September. The contribution of food products to inflation is currently 1.70 percentage points, while energy produces a negative (therefore downward) impact on inflation. Which gives this overall figure of 0.36%.
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