The Dutch rate of inflation fell sharply to 1.6% in October, down from 2.4% in September and its lowest level since November 2010.

The rate of inflation has almost halved over the past three months, the national statistics office CBS said.

The decline is due to the impact of the rise in value added tax to 21% in October 2012. This has now been fully absorbed in the figures, the CBS said.

Nevertheless, calculated according to the harmonised European system, inflation in the Netherlands remains high at 1.3%. This is almost double the eurozone average of 0.7%.