The Netherlands, explained in English · Wednesday 4 November 2026Wed 4 Nov

Economy

Eurozone inflation rises to 4% on higher energy prices

Eurostat's preliminary estimate puts October eurozone inflation at its highest since September 2023, while Dutch inflation reached 3.7%, according to CBS.

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iIllustrative photo: Lukasz Kobus - European Commission / CC BY 4.0

Inflation in the eurozone rose to 4% in October, the highest since September 2023, according to a preliminary estimate from Eurostat, the EU's statistics office. Economists had also expected 4%.

Dutch inflation is below the euro area average of 4.0% on the EU measure

Annual inflation, October 2026, flash estimate (HICP), %

LithuaniaLithuania: 6.16.1BulgariaBulgaria: 6.06.0GreeceGreece: 5.65.6ItalyItaly: 5.65.6CyprusCyprus: 5.45.4BelgiumBelgium: 5.25.2SpainSpain: 4.94.9LuxembourgLuxembourg: 4.94.9CroatiaCroatia: 4.44.4IrelandIreland: 4.04.0PortugalPortugal: 3.93.9FranceFrance: 3.83.8SloveniaSlovenia: 3.83.8EstoniaEstonia: 3.63.6AustriaAustria: 3.53.5FinlandFinland: 3.43.4NetherlandsNetherlands: 3.33.3LatviaLatvia: 3.03.0SlovakiaSlovakia: 2.92.9GermanyGermany: 2.82.8MaltaMalta: 2.32.3
View data
ItemAnnual inflation, October 2026, flash estimate (HICP), %
Lithuania6.1
Bulgaria6
Greece5.6
Italy5.6
Cyprus5.4
Belgium5.2
Spain4.9
Luxembourg4.9
Croatia4.4
Ireland4
Portugal3.9
France3.8
Slovenia3.8
Estonia3.6
Austria3.5
Finland3.4
Netherlands3.3
Latvia3
Slovakia2.9
Germany2.8
Malta2.3
Source: Eurostat | NLnow graphic

In the Netherlands, prices in October were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4% in September, CBS figures show. That is the highest Dutch rate since April 2025, when it was 4.0%. A year ago, in October 2025, it was 3.1%.

Dutch inflation is at its highest since April 2025

% · Oct 2025–Oct 2026

2.02.53.03.54.0Oct 2025: 3.1Nov 2025: 2.8Dec 2025: 2.9Jan 2026: 2.4Feb 2026: 2.4Mar 2026: 2.7Apr 2026: 2.8May 2026: 3.5Jun 2026: 2.9Jul 2026: 3.2Aug 2026: 3.3Sep 2026: 3.4Oct 2026: 3.72.4Oct 2025Dec 2025Feb 2026Apr 2026Jun 2026Aug 2026Oct 20263.7
View data
Item%
Oct 20253.1
Nov 20252.8
Dec 20252.9
Jan 20262.4
Feb 20262.4
Mar 20262.7
Apr 20262.8
May 20263.5
Jun 20262.9
Jul 20263.2
Aug 20263.3
Sep 20263.4
Oct 20263.7
Source: CBS | NLnow graphic

Higher fuel and energy prices are driving the rise. Oil and gas prices have climbed sharply since the war in the Middle East, the Iran war, began at the end of February.

Eurozone inflation was 1.9% in February, before the war. It reached 3.2% in August and 3.8% in September.

Dutch inflation was 2.4% in February and 2.8% in April. It reached 3.5% in May and fell to 2.9% in June, CBS figures show. It then rose every month: 3.2% in July, 3.3% in August and 3.4% in September.

What this means for you

  • A fixed tariff (vast tarief) keeps the price per kWh or m3 the same for the contract period, for example 1 or 3 years, and then changes into a variable tariff (variabel tarief), with new prices announced at least 30 days ahead.
  • A variable tariff (variabel tarief) lets the supplier change the price, usually at set moments such as every 3 months, with at least 1 month's notice, and ending it costs no cancellation fee (opzegvergoeding).
  • A dynamic tariff (dynamisch tarief) changes the electricity price every quarter of an hour, hour or day, and the gas price every day, following wholesale market prices.
  • A standard model contract (modelcontract) is a variable tariff or a 1-year fixed tariff, with a variable price changing no more than 4 times a year, and suppliers may charge feed-in costs (terugleverkosten) to customers with solar panels.

Source: ACM ConsuWijzer: vaste en variabele leveringskosten, read 4 November 2026

Source: CBS, Eurostat

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