- Belgium's inflation rate based on the European harmonised index of consumer prices amounted to 1.5 % in March, just like in February.
- Core inflation (inflation without energy and unprocessed food) amounted to 1.7 % in March compared to 1.6 % in February.
- The sub-indices with the largest upward effect on inflation were tobacco and dairy products.
- The sub-indices with the largest downward effect on inflation in March were electricity, vegetables, cultural services and clothing.
- The harmonised index of consumer prices of March for the EU Member States will be published by Eurostat on 18 April.
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The inflation rate based on the European harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) stood at 1.5 % in March, just like in February. Inflation based on the harmonised index of consumer prices at constant tax rates (HICP-CT) was running at 1.4 % in March and remained unchanged from February. The difference in inflation between the HICP and the HICP-CT is largely due to the changes in excise duties on motor fuels and tobacco. These increases are not taken into account in the HICP-CT.
Inflation and effect on inflation for the 12 main groups
Based on the breakdown into 12 main groups, the highest inflation rate in March was measured for "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" (5.0 %). The lowest inflation rate was measured for "communication" (-0.1 %).
The main group with the largest upward effect on inflation in March was "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" with an effect on inflation of 0.2 percentage point. "Clothing and footwear", "housing, water, energy", "interior decoration and household appliances", "communication" and "recreation and culture" had all of them a downward effect on inflation of -0.1 percentage point.
Inflation and effect on inflation for the overall HICP and 12 main groups
| Product group | Weight (‰) | Inflation on annual basis (%) | Effect on inflation (percentage point) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HICP | HICP-CT | ||||||||
| Jan/18 | Feb/18 | Mar/18 | Mar/18 | Jan/18 | Feb/18 | Mar/18 | |||
| 0 | Total expenditure | 1000.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | |||
| 1 | Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 164.1 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 48.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 3 | Clothing and footwear | 54.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| 4 | Housing, water and energy | 165.9 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| 5 | Interior decoration and household appliances | 74.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| 6 | Health | 77.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 7 | Transport | 122.2 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Communication | 32.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| 9 | Recreation and culture | 90.7 | -1.2 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -0.3 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 10 | Education | 5.1 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Hotels, cafés and restaurants | 79.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 12 | Various goods and services | 85.3 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Inflation according to specific aggregates
The overall HICP can be broken down into five specific aggregates which together form the total expenditure.
- The inflation rate for fuels and energy sources has gone down. It was running at 1.0 % in March compared to 1.6 % in February and 2.6 % in January. Prices decreased on average by 0.6 % compared to the previous month. The average inflation rate of this aggregate for the last twelve months is 5.9 %.
- Inflation for processed food products amounts to 3.7 % in March compared to 3.5 % in February and January. Prices increased on average by 0.5 % compared to February.
- Inflation for unprocessed food (fruit, vegetables, meat and fish) amounted to 0.3 % in March compared to
-0.2 % in February. Prices increased on average by 1.2 % compared to February. The average inflation rate of this aggregate for the last twelve months is -0.4 %. - The inflation for non-energy industrial goods was running at 0.8 % in March, unchanged from the previous month. On average, prices remained stable compared to February.
- Inflation for services slightly increased to 1.6 % in March from 1.5 % in February. Prices decreased on average by 0.2 % compared to February.
Core inflation (inflation without energy and unprocessed food) was running at 1.7 % in March, registering a slight increase compared to the inflation rate of 1.6 % measured in February. On average, prices of this subaggregate remained unchanged compared to the previous month.
Inflation according to specific aggregates
| Specific aggregates | Weight (‰) | Inflation on annual basis (%) | 12-month average (%) | Monthly change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan/18 | Feb/18 | Mar/18 | Mar/18 | Mar/18 | ||
| Total expenditure | 1000.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Fuels and energy sources | 99.5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 5.9 | -0.6 |
| Processed food products | 134.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| Unprocessed food | 78.3 | 0.7 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.4 | 1.2 |
| Non-energy industrial goods | 272.2 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| Services | 415.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | -0.2 |
| HICP without energy and unprocessed food (core inflation) | 822.2 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 |
Effect of sub-indices on inflation
The largest upward effect on inflation was caused by tobacco (0.17 percentage point). Milk, cheese and eggs had an effect of 0.10 percentage point.
Sub-indices with the largest upward effect on inflation
| Sub-index | Weight (‰) | Effect on inflation (percentage point) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mar/18 | ||
| 02.2.0 | Tobacco | 29.3 | 0.17 |
| 01.1.4 | Milk, cheese and eggs | 20.0 | 0.10 |
The largest downward effect on inflation came from electricity (-0.12 percentage point). Vegetables provided an effect of -0.11 percentage point. Cultural services had an effect of -0.08 percentage point. Finally, clothing provided an effect of -0.07 percentage point.
Sub-indices with the largest downward effect on inflation
| Sub-index | Weight (‰) | Effect on inflation (percentage point) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mar/18 | ||
| 04.5.1 | Electricity | 32.4 | -0.12 |
| 01.1.7 | Vegetables | 15.8 | -0.11 |
| 09.4.2 | Cultural services | 15.3 | -0.08 |
| 03.1.2 | Clothing | 42.4 | -0.07 |
Comparison with neighbouring countries
Since the HICP of the neighbouring countries will not be published until later, comparisons can only be made for the month of February.
In February, inflation in Belgium was running at 1.5 %, down from the 1.8 % registered in January. The Netherlands registered an inflation rate of 1.3 % in February; a decrease compared to an inflation rate of 1.5 % in January. Inflation in France in February amounted to 1.3 %, also a decrease compared to 1.5 % in January. Inflation in Germany was running at 1.2 % in February, down from 1.4 % in January.
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Belgium's inflation rate based on the HICP-CT stood at 1.4 % in February, down from a rate of 1.7 % in January. This inflation rate in Germany also went down from 1.4 % in January to 1.2 % in February. This inflation rate in France went down from 1.1 % in January to 0.9 % in February. Inflation in the Netherlands was running at 1.0 % in February, down from 1.3 % in January.
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