Inflation rate 10.0 percent in 2022

Energy more expensive

The high 2022 inflation rate was mainly due to the price development of energy (electricity, gas and district heating). Year on year, the price of energy increased by 114 percent on average. Energy’s contribution to the 10.0 percent total inflation last year was 4.6 percentage points.

Energy price study

CBS measures the price development of energy on the basis of new energy contracts. However, in 2022, many households still had a fixed contract for gas and electricity. CBS has been studying new methods for measurement and calculation of energy prices as part of the CPI and HICP; these should result in a more refined presentation of current energy price developments. The first provisional research results were published at the end of October 2022. In its research, CBS uses data files that are provided by energy companies. In the coming period, CBS will continue to provide regular updates and results from the study along with its reports on inflation.

Increased prices of food and motor fuels

Food products and motor fuels also became more expensive in 2022. Food prices were up by 10.8 percent relative to 2021, whereas they still fell by 0.2 percent in 2021. The food price hike mainly applied to meat, dairy products, bread and cereals, and vegetables.

In 2022, motor fuel prices were 18.1 percent up on the previous year; this was 16.8 percent in 2021. A litre of petrol cost 1.82 euros on average in 2021, but in 2022 this was 2.07 euros. The pump price for a litre of diesel fuel went up from 1.46 euros in 2021 to 1.96 euros in 2022.

CAO wages rose less rapidly than consumer prices

Last week, CBS reported that collectively agreed (CAO) wages rose by 3.2 percent in 2022. According to provisional figures, last year’s CAO wage increase was therefore 6.8 percentage points lower than the consumer price inflation rate.

Eurozone inflation also rising

Aside from the Dutch consumer price index (CPI), CBS also compiles the European harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP).

Based on the HICP, prices of goods and services in the Netherlands increased by 11.6 percent on average in 2022. In 2021, the HICP increase for the Netherlands was 2.8 percent. Across the euro area, inflation rose from 2.6 percent in 2021 to 8.4 percent in 2022, according to provisional figures.

The HICP is compiled according to the European harmonised method in order to facilitate comparison between the various EU member states. Price indices for the euro area and the European Union as a whole are calculated on the basis of the HICPs of the individual member states. The European Central Bank (ECB) uses these figures to formulate its monetary policy.

Unlike the CPI, the HICP does not take into account the costs related to home ownership. In the Dutch CPI, these costs are calculated based on developments in house rents.

Implications of the coronavirus crisis for inflation rate calculation

Due to the government's countermeasures against COVID-19, some services were either limited or unavailable as of April 2020. As a result, for some of these services no transactions took place of which prices could be measured. In accordance with the Eurostat guidelines, CBS opted for the most appropriate estimation method in each situation. The product groups that required price estimates as a result of the coronavirus measures accounted for approximately 3 percent of consumer spending in 2021.