Dutch Inflation Lowest In 7 Months, Retail Sales Growth Slows

(RTTNews) - Dutch inflation eased at the start of the year to the lowest level in seven months, while retail sales growth eased further in December, separate reports from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

Consumer prices logged an annual increase of 3.3 percent in January, slower than the 4.1 percent rise in December, the flash data revealed.

Further, this was the lowest inflation rate since June 2024, when prices had risen 3.2 percent.

Inflation based on services moderated to 4.4 percent in January from 5.8 percent a month ago. Prices of food products rose at a slower pace of 6.7 percent versus 7.0 percent in December.

Energy prices, excluding fuel, decreased 1.5 percent from last year, which also curbed the rise in inflation.

Inflation based on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, or HICP, softened to 2.9 percent from 3.9 percent in December.

Another piece of official data showed that retail sales climbed 1.5 percent annually in December versus a 1.9 percent rebound in November. Moreover, this was the slowest growth in the current sequence of increase that began in July.

Non-food sales advanced 4.6 percent, while food sales dropped by 4.0 percent. Online sales were 12.5 percent higher compared to last year.