Belgian inflation rise comes to a standstill at 3.18 percent

Belgian inflation remained approximately stable at 3.18 percent in March, after a sharp recovery in the previous four months. This is mainly due to the slower climb in food prices.

The rise in inflation has come to a standstill. Belgian inflation fell very slightly in March to 3.18 percent, compared to 3.20 percent in February. This is evident from figures from Statbel, the Belgian statistics agency. The Federal Planning Bureau had predicted a decline to 2.88 percent.

The stabilization of inflation is mainly due to the evolution of food prices. Food inflation fell for the twelfth month in a row and is still 3.21 percent, compared to 4.65 percent in February. Food is therefore still becoming more expensive, but less quickly than a few months ago.

Energy prices continue to fall, but at a much slower pace. Energy is 1.61 percent cheaper than a year ago. In February, the decline in energy prices was still 5.3 percent year on year and in January even 22.3 percent.

Good news is that core inflation, which does not take into account the price evolution of energy and unprocessed food, is falling for the tenth consecutive month. It now stands at 3.85 percent, compared to 4.25 percent in February.

But services inflation is persistent, as it rose from 4.92 percent in February to 5.04 percent in March. It is mainly determined by the evolution of wages, because wage costs are the largest cost item for many service companies. The high services inflation shows that companies are passing on higher labor costs in their sales prices.

The key index for public office and social benefits has not been exceeded. This means that civil servants’ wages and social benefits will not be indexed for the time being.