Inflation stood at 8.31% in March, remaining at its highest level since March 1983 when it had reached 8.92%, the Belgian statistical office Statbel indicated on Wednesday. In February, inflation was 8.04% and 7.59% in January.
Inflation has been pushed up for months by energy prices, whose growth was first driven by the recovery following the various confinements imposed to stem the Covid-19, and then by the war in Ukraine .
According to figures from Statbel, energy inflation stood at 57.22% in March and seems to have slowed down somewhat, compared with 60.99% in February. It still contributes 4.82 percentage points to total inflation.
Electricity now costs 49.9% more than a year ago and natural gas has exploded, costing 148.8% more than in March 2021. The price of heating oil, smoothed over 12 months, climbed 62.7% year-on-year and fuels cost 31.3% more than in March 2021.
Compared to February, natural gas increased by an average of 4.8% while the price of electricity benefited from the temporary reduction in VAT, falling by an average of 11.7%. Fuels rose by 8.9% on average over the month.
