November 24, 2022

  • Belgium’s inflation rate based on the European harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) stood at 13.1% in October compared to 12.1% in September and 10.5% in August.
  • Core inflation (inflation without energy and unprocessed food) was 6.3% in October compared to 5.8% in September.
  • The inflation rate based on the consumer price index (CPI) for October stood at 12.3% compared to 11.3% in September.
  • The sub-indices with the largest upward effect on inflation were electricity, gas, domestic heating oil and motor fuels.
  • The sub-indices with the largest downward effect on inflation this month were housing rent, telecommunication, restaurants and cafés, clothing, nursing in hospitals, furniture and tobacco.
  • The harmonised index of consumer prices of October for the EU Member States will be published by Eurostat on 17 November.

The inflation rate based on the European harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) was running at 13.1% in October compared to 12.1% in September and 10.5% in August. The inflation rate based on the harmonised index of consumer prices at constant tax rates (HICP-CT) was running at 14.8% in October, compared to 13.2% in September. The difference in inflation between the HICP and the HICP-CT is largely due to the temporary VAT reduction for electricity and gas. These price changes are not taken into account in the HICP-CT.

Core inflation, which does not take into account price evolutions of energy products and unprocessed food, stood at 6.3% in October, compared to 5.8% in September and 5.4% in August. Inflation without energy has increased to 6.5% in October compared to 6.0% in September and 5.5% in August.

Inflation for food products stands at 13.2% this month, compared to 11.3% last month. This inflation for food has sharply risen in recent months. In November last year, it was still 0.3%. Inflation for oils, fish, dairy products, bread and cereals and meat has sharply increased in recent months. Inflation for oils stands this month at 25.4%. In November last year, it was still 4.2%. For dairy products, inflation is now 16.7% compared to 0.8% in November 2021. Fish has an inflation rate of 11.1% this month, while in November last year it was -1.2%. For bread and cereals, it is 14.9% this month compared to 1.7% in November 2021. Inflation for meat amounts to 12.3% this month compared to 0.7% in November last year.

Electricity is now 84.7% more expensive than a year ago. Natural gas is 130.6% more expensive on an annual basis. The price of domestic heating oil has risen by 62.6% compared to last year.

Inflation and effect on inflation for the 12 main groups

Based on the breakdown into 12 main groups, the highest inflation rate in October was measured for ‘Housing, water, energy’ (42.0%). The lowest inflation rate is recorded for the group “communication” (0.4%). The main group with the largest upward effect on inflation in October was ‘housing, water, energy’ with 5.9 percentage points. The largest downward effect is measured for ‘Health’ with -0.9 percentage points.

Source: STATBEL
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.