Inflation in the Netherlands jumped in September to its highest in decades, driven by skyrocketing energy prices, new data from the Dutch statistics agency (CBS) has shown.
Consumer prices, harmonised to be comparable with inflation data from other European Union countries (HICP), rose to 17.1% this month after August's jump to 13.7%.
Energy Prices Skyrocket
Energy prices in the euro zone's fifth largest economy were 114% higher than in September 2021, while food prices jumped 10.5%.
'An inflation of 17.1% in September 2022 means that the prices of consumer products are 17.1% higher than in September 2021,' CBS said. 'The inflation of 17.1% in September is therefore not on top of the inflation of 13.7% in August.'
Inflation helped drive retail sales up 2% in August, the CBS said, even though sales volumes dropped 6% as consumer confidence has hit an all-time low.
This month, the Dutch government said it would spend about €18 billion next year to help people pay their bills, and also capped the prices of gas and electricity.
Retail Sales
Elsewhere, CBS said that revenue in the retail sector in August was 1.7% higher than for the same month last year, however sales volumes were 6.0% lower, reflecting the effect of inflation on shoppers' baskets.
Turnover in the food sector grew by 7.7%, with supermarket turnover up 8.9%, CBS said.
Turnover in the non-food sector shrank by 2.5%. Online turnover was 0.4% lower than for the same period last year, according to the statistics body.
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