The cost of living indicator for March was at 3.18%, but rose to 3.37% in April. Food inflation dropped from 1% in May to 0.31% this month, while energy inflation rose from 11.17% in May to 15.10% in June, with natural gas prices increasing by 6.0% and electricity prices rising by 3.4%.
The increase in inflation is attributed to the phasing out of government support measures, according to the Belgian statistics office Statbel. Energy costs have increased by 15% compared to last year, with gas prices more than doubling. Overall, food prices have remained stable at a level higher than before the pandemic, with some products like milk and tea becoming cheaper over the past year.
In June, price increases were seen in natural gas, electricity, telecommunications packs, confectionery, restaurants, cafes, bread, cereals, domestic package holidays, household appliances, clothing and hotel rooms. Services inflation also increased from 3.88% to 4.55%, while core inflation excluding energy and unprocessed food prices also rose to 2.97% compared to 2.8% in May
