Inflation in May was 6.1 percent, Statistics Netherlands reports on the basis of a so-called rapid estimate based on incomplete source data. Inflation rose mainly because energy prices fell less sharply last month than in April. Prices of food, beverages and tobacco rose again, albeit at a lesser rate than in April. Prices of industrial goods also increased.
‘Crawls Up’
‘It has been creeping up again in recent months,’ says Peter Hein van Mulligen, chief economist at CBS. ‘The fall in energy prices is starting to ease somewhat, while many other things are still rising in price.’
The average price increase of products in supermarkets was 12.8 percent last month, compared to 13.2 percent in April. Prices of industrial goods rose by 8.9 percent, against 8.3 percent a month earlier. Energy, including motor fuels, on the other hand, became 18.5 percent cheaper after a price drop of more than 22 percent in April. Services became 6.1 percent more expensive, after a price increase of 6 percent a month earlier.
Prices are rising slowly
‘Goods are usually made in factories where a lot of energy is used. It always takes a while before you see the high energy price reflected in the end products,’ says Van Mulligen. “That’s the case again now.”
Although energy prices have been falling for some time, Statistics Netherlands does not expect inflation to return to around 2 percent in the short term. ‘But the miracles are not over yet,’ says Van Mulligen.
