Inflation increases from 2.08 % to 2.17 %

Consumer prices
Inflation increases from 2.08 % to 2.17 %

Consumer price index of July 2018

  • Inflation increases from 2.08 % to 2.17 % in July.
  • The consumer price index has increased by 0.41 point or 0.38 % this month.
  • Inflation based on the health index has increased to 1.71 %, up from 1.63 %.
  • The smoothed health index was running at 104.94 points in July.
  • The main upward pressure in July came from hotel rooms, airplane tickets, electricity, natural gas, holiday villages and campings and road taxes. However, fruit, clothing, city trips and meat have had a decreasing effect on the index.

The consumer price index is running at 107.43 points in July 2018. It has increased by 0.41 point over the month. Inflation has gone up to 2.17 % from 2.08 %. The health index has gained 0.43 point to 107.44 points. Inflation based on the health index has gone up from 1.63 % to 1.71 %. The main upward pressure in July came from hotel rooms, airplane tickets, electricity, natural gas, holiday villages and campings and road taxes. These increases were mainly offset by decreases in the price of fruit, clothing, city trips and meat.

The consumer price index has risen by 0.41 point or 0.38 % in July 2018 and is now running at 107.43 points, against 107.02 points in June 2018 (2013=100).

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The health index has gained 0.43 point to 107.44 points in July, up from 107.01 points in June. The smoothed health index now stands at 104.94 points. The central index for public service and social benefits, set at 105.10 points, has not been exceeded. The last time the central index was exceeded was in May 2017.

The largest upward pressure in July came from hotel rooms, airplane tickets, electricity, natural gas, holiday villages and campings and road taxes, whereas most of the downward pressure came from fruit, clothing, city trips and meat. The most important trends this month are:

Upward: Effect: Downward: Effect:
Hotel rooms +0.125 point Fruit -0.080 point
Airplane tickets +0.105 point Clothing -0.030 point
Electricity +0.095 point City trips -0.030 point
Natural gas +0.055 point Meat -0.025 point
Holiday villages and campings +0.040 point    
Road taxes +0.025 point    

Prices of hotel rooms have increased on average by 18.9 %. Airplane tickets have become 17.6 % more expensive compared to last month. Both increases are due to the summer holidays. Prices for electricity have increased on average by 2.5 % this month. Natural gas has gone up on average by 2.8 %. Prices of holiday villages and campings have gone up by 5.6 % on average compared to last month. The increase of road taxes amounted to 2.6 % on average.

Fruit have been on average 5.8 % less expensive compared to the previous month. Clothing has become on average 0.7 % less expensive. Prices of city trips have decreased on average by 1.4 %. Meat has become on average 0.6 % less expensive this month.

Inflation is now running at 2.17 %, against 2.08 % in June and 1.82 % in May. Inflation based on the health index amounted to 1.71 % this month compared to 1.63 % in June and 1.49 % in May. Inflation without energy has decreased to 1.38 % in July compared to 1.54 % in June and 1.48 % in May. Core inflation, which does not take into account price evolutions of energy products and unprocessed food, stands at 1.36 % in July, compared to 1.44 % in June and May.

Food inflation is now running at 2.28 %, down from 3.06 % in June and 2.53 % in May. Fresh fruit now costs 3.2 % more than in July 2017. Fresh vegetables prices are also on the rise: 1.1 % on an annual basis. Fish and shellfish are 1.0 % more expensive than a year ago. Butter is 17.3 % more expensive than last year. Prices have increased by 3.2 % for non alcoholic beverages and by 1.4 % for alcoholic beverages. Tobacco prices have gone up by 5.9 % compared to July last year. Energy inflation is now running at 9.19 %, compared to 6.88 % in June and 4.77 % in May. Electricity is now 1.9 % more expensive than a year ago. Natural gas is 11.5 % more expensive than in July last year. Prices for domestic heating oil, calculated based on a smoothed 12-month moving average, have increased by 12.0 % in a year. Motor fuels are 16.5 % more expensive than last year. Inflation for services has gone up to 1.56 % from 1.31 %. Inflation for rents has slightly increased and now stands at 1.03 %, compared to 1.00 % in June.

The following products and services have registered the sharpest price increases compared to last year in July:

Upward: Inflation:
LPG 29.7%
Liquefied petroleum gas (butane and propane) 25.8%
Diesel 21.1%
Butter 17.3%
Postal mail 13.5%
Domestic heating oil 12.0%
Natural gas 11.5%
Other tobacco products 11.3%
Petrol 10.6%
Eggs 10.3%
Newspapers 9.4%
Dental care 7.9%
Downward: Inflation:
Video equipment -7.8%
Mobile phones -6.3%
Mobile telephone services -5.9%
Data processing equipment -5.6%
Fresh shellfish -5.2%
Software -3.8%
Coffee machines, tea makers and similar appliances -3.3%
Toys -3.3%
Computers -3.2%
Cameras -2.8%
Fixed telephone equipment -2.7%
Headphones, HDMI cables, etc. -2.5%

The main group with the largest upward effect on inflation in July was "Transport" with an effect of 0.40 percentage point. "Communication" had the largest downward effect on inflation, with -0.13 percentage point.

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The main group with the largest contribution to inflation is "Transport" with 0.69 percentage point. The lowest contribution to inflation was registered by the main group "communication", with -0.03 percentage point.

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2013 = 100 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018
Consumer price index 106.69 106.91 107.02 107.43
Inflation 1.52% 1.82% 2.08% 2.17%
Health index 106.89 106.99 107.01 107.44
Smoothed health index* 104.49 104.65 104.76 104.94
* defined in the law of 23 April 2015 on the promotion of employment (Belgian Official Journal of 27 April 2015)