Changes in consumer prices

Based on the monthly figures for January, February and the flash estimate on inflation for March, prices rose by 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2025. This means there was real-terms growth in negotiated wages, (changes in negotiated wages, adjusted for inflation) of 1.8 percent for Q1 2025.

New method for measuring energy prices and its effect on inflation rates

With effect from June 2023, CBS adopted a new method to measure energy prices and incorporate them into the consumer price index (CPI). This change in methodology has an impact on the inflation rate. On 30 June, CBS published a background article explaining in more detail what the new method means for the CPI, the inflation rate and the use of the CPI for indexation purposes.

The figures used to calculate real wage changes are based on the research series mentioned in this background article. In this research series, the current energy prices paid by households were used, making them more consistent, on average, with the price changes that people have seen.
With effect from June 2023, the survey series was no longer calculated because the new methodology has been part of the CPI since then. The indices of the June 2023 survey series and thereafter were approximated to the CPI, as these indices returned to approximately the same level as the survey series in May 2023. Since June 2024, there has been no difference between the published inflation rate and the year-on-year percentage change in the survey series.

Back to article