Inflation, the figure that reflects the general rise in the price level, has risen to 5.26 per cent this month. The cost of living in Belgium has risen mainly due to the sharp increase in the price of natural gas and electricity.
Inflation in Belgium continues to rise: whilst the cost of living rose by 4.69 per cent last month, inflation has increased to 5.26 per cent this month according to the statistics agency Statbel.
Anyone following the news on energy prices knows the cause all too well: the sharp rise in energy prices is caused by the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which have been putting pressure on gas and oil supplies to Europe for months.
Following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, inflation saw its first significant spike in April, rising to over 4 per cent. After a slight dip in June, inflation has been on a steady upward trend again since July.
Inflation has not been this high since April. Back then, too, sky-high energy prices were to blame.
Natural gas more expensive too
Compared with a year ago, energy inflation this month stands at 33.22 per cent, compared with 24.37 per cent in September.
Electricity is 23.7 per cent more expensive than in October last year, heating oil 30.8 per cent and natural gas as much as 52.5 per cent.
In addition to price rises for natural gas, electricity and heating oil, rising rents, higher tuition fees for higher education, more expensive clothing and airfares are also driving inflation.
The sharp rise in the price of external storage devices is also striking: +48.7 per cent. As a result of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) computer applications, high global demand has led to a shortage of hard drives and memory cards.
Trigger index not exceeded
The health index, on which any indexation of wages and benefits is based, rose from 4 per cent in September to 4.53 per cent in October. The rise is not sufficient to trigger a 2% top-up.
The last time this happened was the case was in June. As a result, benefits and the salaries of civil servants got a 2% top up in September.
According to the Planning Office’s inflation forecasts from last month, the reference index was set to be exceeded again in November. The Planning Bureau will publish new inflation forecasts on Tuesday.