Dutch Annual Inflation Accelerates In September

Oct 4, 2007 - Dutch annual inflation accelerated to 1.3% in September, the statistical office said Thursday. In August, consumer prices climbed 1.1% on an annual basis. Prices of gas, diesel and LPG were up 7.5%.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, or HICP, also rose 1.3% in September, larger than the 1.1% in August.

Dutch Economic Growth Rises In Q2

Sep 27, 2007 - Dutch economic growth in the second quarter stood slightly above the estimate, the Central Bureau of Statistics or CBS said Thursday.

Figures from Statistics Netherlands showed that the economy grew 2.6% year-over-year in the second quarter. First estimation showed that the economy would grow 2.4% in the second quarter.

Production in the care sector and goods sector increased higher than previously estimated, leading to an upward adjustment of 0.2 of a percentage point. Consequently, net exports and government consumption also grew in the second quarter.

At the same time, growth of re-exports and fixed capital formation were lower than previously estimated. Lower consumption of natural gas led to smaller increase in the household consumption, compared to 2006.

Consumer spending on durable goods such as consumer electronics and cars, and on hotels and restaurants and transport and communication maintained higher growth rate. Higher spending on care spurred on government consumption.

Among all sectors of industry, the construction industry had the highest production growth rate at 5%. Growth rate climbed 4% for commercial services and care sector.

Economic growth dropped slightly in the second quarter than in the same period in 2006 mainly due to a fall in production of natural gas. Due to this, growth for consumption by households and exports of goods declined. Other factors also resulted in a substantially lower growth of fixed capital formation.

Compared with the preceding quarter, economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, which is slightly above the consensus of 0.2%. The CBS data showed that this is the lowest quarter-on-quarter growth for two years.

Dutch Trade Surplus Widens To EUR 3.0 Bln In July

Sep 13, 2007 - The Dutch trade surplus widened to 3.0 billion euros in July, the statistical office said Thursday. A year ago, the trade surplus amounted to 1.6 billion euros. Export volume of goods grew 11% to 28.1 billion euros. Imports amounted to 25.1 billion euros, up 10% from the previous year.

Dutch's Inflation Rate Falls In August

Sep 6, 2007 - Dutch's consumer prices increased 1.1% year-over-year in August, which is 0.4% points lower than the 1.5% growth logged in July, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday. The CBS report stated that the rate dipped to this level for the first time in 2007.

In August, prices of fresh vegetables were down 3.8% compared to the same month a year ago, leading to a fall in the total consumer prices. In July, vegetables were highly expensive in comparison with July 2006.

The average price level of flowers and plants slid 1.2% year-over-year in August. The CBS report said, in July, prices of flowers and plants were one quarter higher than twelve months ago.

Prices of clothes increased 2.5% in August relative to the same month in 2006, but the price increase was more moderate than in July, which also had a downward effect on inflation.

The harmonized method consumer prices index or HICP also fell to 1.1% in August. In July, Dutch inflation according to the HICP was 1.4%.

Dutch Producer Prices Rises In July

Aug 31, 2007 - Dutch producer prices rose 3.1% on year in July, the Central Bureau of Statistics or CBS said Friday.

The increase was almost equal to the 3.2% logged in June.

Since the beginning of the year, continuous modest price rises have seen in the nation, but the trend reversed in July.

In July, prices in the petroleum processing industry dropped 3.3%.

The CBS report showed that prices in the food and drinks industry rose 10.2% in July following a 7.3% rise in June. Selling Prices rose by more than 8% in the wood industry, but this was lower than the increases recorded in previous months, the CBS said.

Dutch 2006 budget surplus 0.6 pct of GDP

Jun 13, 2007 - The Dutch government's 2006 budget surplus, the first recorded in six years, was 3 bln eur or 0.6 pct of the gross national product, the Central Bureau of Statistics said.

The government's Central Planning Bureau (CPB) had predicted a 2006 budget deficit of 1.0-1.5 pct.

May 29, 2007 - The Dutch government expects to reach a budget deficit of minus 0.7 pct of gross domestic product for 2007, down from last year's forecast for a surplus of 0.2 pct of GDP, according to a report from the ministry of finance.

The ministry said in its spring memorandum the change was primarily caused by a drop in the government's estimated natural gas revenues (minus 0.5 pct of GDP) due to warmer temperatures during this year's mild winter.

Other factors include the first phase of the previous government's plan to assume the debts of the Netherlands Antilles, an autonomous nation within the Netherlands (minus 0.1 pct of GDP) and higher-than-expected healthcare costs (minus 0.2 pct of GDP).

The memorandum also noted a budget surplus at local government level of 0.1 pct of GDP, adding it expects the deficit to improve in 2008.