CBS: Inflation rate in Caribbean Netherlands Down

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the CPI-based inflation rate in Caribbean Netherlands fell in Q2 2016, whereas in Q1, inflation on all three islands had risen for the first time since mid-2015.

Saba
The inflation rate on Saba also dropped to 0 percent in Q2 2016, down from 0.3 percent in Q1. Price developments of motor fuels, toiletries and home maintenance products had a downward effect on inflation. Food products and soft drinks prices, on the other hand, drove inflation up. Cheese prices, for example, are more than 8 percent up from one year ago.

Inflation rate Saba over 2015 revised
The average inflation rate on Saba over 2015 was 0.4 percent. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported earlier that consumer prices on Saba had fallen by 0.1 percent in 2015. However, new information showed that a waste collection fee of 9 dollars a month was introduced late 2014. As it turned out, the introduction has an upward effect on inflation of 0.5 percentage points. Quarterly inflation figures published by CBS over 2015 have also been revised. The adjusted figures can be accessed on StatLine, the CBS electronic database.

Bonaire
The inflation rate on Bonaire fell to 0.4 percent. In the preceding quarter, consumer prices for goods and services had on average been 0.5 percent up on a year-on-year basis. Prices of clothes, women’s shoes and electricity pushed inflation down. Electricity prices dropped substantially in Q2 and were 5.7 percent below the level of one year previously. Higher prices for food products had an upward effect on inflation.

St Eustatius
The inflation rate on St Eustatius fell sharply to – 0.1 percent. Consumer prices were 0.4 percent up in Q1 2016 relative to the same quarter last year. Price developments for household appliances and petrol nudged inflation down on St Eustatius. Furthermore, prices of fresh vegetables and eggs fell steeply. Eggs are more than 34 percent cheaper than last year.

Provisional figures
The status of the figures over Q2 2016 is provisional and will become final when the figures over Q3 2016 are published.

Source: StatLine: Caribisch Nederland