The Hague, (Asian independent) Inflation in the Netherlands rose to another record high of 12 per cent in August from 10.3 per cent in July, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on Tuesday.
Energy prices remained the main driving force behind this growth, but the rising costs of groceries and housing costs also emerged as key contributors. Energy was 151 per cent more expensive in August than in the same month one year earlier. In July, this figure was 108 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.
The high inflation rate leads to uncertainty about the future of the Dutch economy, Professor Olaf van Vliet, head of the Department of Economics at Leiden University, told the news agency.
Currently, inflation is largely driven by energy prices, which are mainly dependent on the course of the conflict in Ukraine and on the developments in the gas market, van Vliet said.
“Also important are the effects of the monetary policies worldwide and the decisions by central banks to raise interest rates,” he said. “The question here is not whether these have an effect, but when they will have an effect and at what level.”
The CBS has been monitoring inflation on a monthly basis since 1963. The previous record dates back to January 1975, when inflation was 11.1 per cent during the oil crisis.
