The inflation rate was 3.2% in July representing a 0.6% rise on the preceding month and the first time the figure has been higher than 3% in five years, reports national statistics office CBS on Thursday.

The rise is almost completely due to higher gas and electricity prices, said the CBS. The cost of gas went up almost 7% in July and electricity by 3.2%.
‘It’s clear that the period of low inflation is over. But the Dutch consumer can cope with the present situation,’ CBS economist Michiel Vergeer is quoted by ANP news service as saying.
Vergeer pointed out that the rate of inflation is still l,kower than the average pay rise of 3.5%.
The Netherlands is still one of the countries with the lowest inflation in Europe, said the CBS.