Inflation falls to below 10%
Inflation in Belgium has fallen to under 10%. The January inflation figures that were released on Monday show an annual inflation rate of 8.05%. This is well down on the 10.35% annual inflation rate in December. Inflation peaked in October 2022 when an inflation rate of 12.27% was recorded.
The price of energy is starting to fall. However, the spiraling price of food is now serving to fuel inflation to an ever-increasing degree. The Ghent University (UGent) Professor of Labour Economics Stijn Baert sums the situation up on Twitter “The energy crisis appears to have become a food (price) crisis”.
Although inflation has fallen it is still far higher than we had become used to in recent decades. During the year from January 2022 tot January 2023 the price of food increased by 15.59%. Meanwhile, this month the price of gas is 7.1% down on what it was in January 2022 and electricity 2.8% more expensive.
The price of certain products has risen dramatically during the past 12 months. The price of cooking oil is up by 28.2%, fish is 15% more expensive and the price of dairy products is up by almost a quarter (24.6%). We are currently paying an average of 34.3% more for eggs than we were a year ago and semi-skimmed milk is 27.6% more expensive. Bread too has increased sharply in price (+18.3%) as has meat (+13.8%).