Inflation remains unchanged at 2.28 %

Consumer price index of April 2017

• Inflation (2.28%) remains unchanged compared to last month.
• The consumer price index has increased by 0.18 point or 0.17% this month.
• Inflation based on the health index has increased to 1.86%, up from 1.79%.
• The main upward pressure in April came from package holidays abroad, hotels, package holidays in Belgium, holiday villages, alcoholic beverages, domestic heating oil and maintenance products. The products with the largest downward pressure were electricity, fruit, natural gas and flowers and plants.

The consumer price index stands at 105.09 points in April 2017. It has increased by 0.18 point over the month. Inflation remains unchanged compared to last month and amounts to 2.28%. The health index has gained 0.14 point to 105.46 points. Inflation based on the health index has accelerated to 1.86%, up from 1.79%. The main upward pressure this month came from package holidays abroad, hotels, package holidays in Belgium, holiday villages, alcoholic beverages, domestic heating oil and maintenance products. These increases were partially offset by price decreases for electricity, fruit, natural gas and flowers and plants.

The consumer price index has increased by 0.18 point or 0.17% in April 2017 and now stands at 105.09 points, compared to 104.91 points in March 2017 (2013=100).

The health index has gained 0.14 point to 105.46 points in April, compared to 105.32 points in March. The smoothed health index stands at 103.02 points in April. The central index for public services and social benefits, set at 103.04 points, has not been exceeded this month. The last time the central index was exceeded was in May 2016.

Products with the largest increasing effect in April were package holidays abroad, hotels, package holidays in Belgium, holiday villages, alcoholic beverages, domestic heating oil and maintenance products. Electricity, fruit, natural gas and flowers and plants provided the largest downward pressure compared to last month. The most important trends this month are:

After seasonal adjustment, package holidays abroad became on average 3.5% more expensive. Prices of hotel rooms have increased on average by 6.7%. Package holidays in Belgium have become on average 12.6% more expensive this month. After seasonal adjustment, stays in holiday villages cost on average 5.4% more this month.  Alcoholic beverages were on average 1.9% more expensive. Prices for domestic heating oil, calculated based on a smoothed 12-month moving average, have gone up by 1.7%. Maintenance products have become on average 2.6% more expensive.

Prices of electricity have decreased on average by 2.1%. Fruit became on average 3.8% less expensive.  Natural gas has become on average 2.0% less expensive this month. Flowers and plants have become on average 4.6% cheaper this month.

Inflation now stands at 2.28%, just like in March, compared to 2.97% in February. Inflation based on the health index went up in April and is now running at 1.86% compared to 1.79% in March and 2.47% in February. Inflation without energy has decreased to 1.31% in April from 1.32% in March and 1.73% in February. Core inflation, which does not take into account price evolutions of energy products and unprocessed food, was running at 1.53% in April, compared to 1.21% in March and 1.49% in February.

Food inflation stands at 0.07%, down from 1.47% in the previous month and 2.33% in February. Fresh fruit now costs 7.5% less than in April 2016. Fresh vegetable are also cheaper: 4.7% on an annual basis. Prices for non-alcoholic beverages are now 2.3% higher than last year. Prices for alcoholic beverages have gone up by 0.4% on an annual basis. Tobacco now costs 5.3% more than in April last year. Energy inflation is now running at 11.30%, up from 11.12% last month and down from 14.80% in February. Electricity is now 11.1% more expensive than a year ago. Natural gas is 7.4% more expensive than in April last year. Prices for domestic heating oil, calculated based on a smoothed 12-month moving average, have increased by 7.9% in a year. Motor fuels are now 16.0% more expensive than a year ago. Inflation for services has increased to 2.22% from 1.57%. This increase is mostly due to the fact that this year, Easter holidays were entirely in April, unlike last year. Inflation for accommodation rose in April from 1,7% to 8.9%. Inflation for rents decreased to 1.03% from 1.05%.