December's inflation rate lower

• Inflation rate down to 2.4 percent
• Petrol prices and phone rates have downward effect on inflation
• Inflation rate averaged 2.3 percent over 2011

The most recent figures released by Statistics Netherlands show that inflation was 2.4 percent in December, i.e. below the level of the preceding months when inflation varied around 2.6 percent lag.

The decline is mainly caused by petrol price changes.Petrol prices were 3.4 percent up in December from one year previously, but in November the price level relative to November 2010 was 7.4 percent. Phone rates also had a downward effect on inflation.

With 2.3 percent, the average inflation rate over the twelve months of 2011 was significantly higher than the average rate of 1.3 percent over 2010. For the second time since 2003, the average annual inflation rate is above 2.0 percent. The higher rate in 2011 is predominantly due to the price of natural gas, which was 7.4 percent higher than in 2010. Higher prices for electricity, food products and coffee also contributed to inflation in 2011.