Life more expensive again in April, inflation increased to 5.2 percent

2023-05-02 05:19:35

Image Robin Utrecht/ANP

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reports in a quick first estimate that inflation amounted to 5.2 percent last month. In March, inflation eased to 4.4 percent on an annual basis from 8 percent in February. In December, consumer goods and services were still 9.6 percent more expensive than twelve months previously. At the peak in September last year, inflation was still 14.5 percent.

The average price increase of products in supermarkets was 13.2 percent last month, compared to 15.1 percent in March. Prices of industrial goods rose by 8.3 percent, compared to 8.8 percent in March. Energy, including motor fuels, on the other hand, became almost 22 percent cheaper after a price drop of more than 28 percent a month earlier.

In order to make a good comparison with other European countries, Statistics Netherlands also provides inflation figures according to the European method, which does not take housing rents into account, among other things. The inflation then amounted to 5.9 percent, compared to 4.5 percent in March.

Later in the day, the European statistics agency Eurostat will release inflation figures for the entire eurozone. In March, annual inflation in the euro area was 6.9 percent.

As inflation is still above the target of 2 percent, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to continue raising interest rates. However, the size of the next rate hike is still unclear. The ECB will meet on interest rates on Thursday. It will then become clear whether the central bankers again opt for an interest rate step of half a percentage point or for a smaller increase of a quarter of a percentage point.