Belgium‘s inflation rate declined slightly in December, to 3.16%, compared to 3.20% the previous month, according to the latest data from Statbel, the Belgian statistics office.
The consumer price index rose by 0.53 points (0.40%), to 133.54 points, up from 133.01 points in November.
Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, rose to 2.91%, compared to 2.80% the previous month, reflecting higher underlying pressures.
Inflationary effects
Different segments experienced different inflationary effects for the month, the data showed. Energy inflation dropped from 9.44% in November to 7.40% in December, with a notable decrease in natural gas inflation (from 111.3% in November to 59.2% in December). Electricity inflation also eased slightly, to 12.6%, down from 15.2% the previous month.
Motor fuel prices fell by 3.5% compared to the same month in 2023, but rose by 1.1% compared to November 2024. Domestic heating oil prices declined by 9.1% over the year.
Food inflation reported a notable month-on-month increase, from 0.80% in November 2024 to 1.85% in December, and accounted for 0.38 percentage points of the overall inflation rise.
Services inflation rose from 3.94% from 3.52% the previous month, while rent inflation fell back, from 4.50% to 4.22%.
Individual categories that saw the highest inflation, compared to the same period a year ago, included Natural gas (+59.2%), Cigarettes (+28.1%), Olive oil (+21.3%), Newspapers (+18.1%) and Electricity (+12.6%).
At the same time, segments in which price decreases were observed included Computers and laptops (−17.5%), Video equipment (−16.5%), Freezers and refrigerators (−13.3%), Domestic heating oil (−9.1%), and Smartphones (−8.7%).
‘The most significant price increases in December concerned travels abroad and city trips, electricity, natural gas, hotel rooms, motor fuels, plane tickets, private rent, restaurants and cafés,’ Statbel said. ‘However, clothes, household appliances and repairs, fruit, data processing equipment, holiday villages and smartphones have had a decreasing effect on the index.’
Belgium’s inflation estimate according to the European Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 4.4% in December 2024, reflecting ongoing but moderated inflationary pressures in the eurozone. Read more here.
