EuroWire, THE HAGUE: Dutch inflation held steady at 2.4% in February 2026, unchanged from January, as higher airfares offset easing food-price pressures, Statistics Netherlands said on Tuesday. The consumer price index showed goods and services were 2.4% more expensive than a year earlier, matching a flash estimate released on March 3. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 1.0% from January, and CBS uses the index to track household spending across a broad basket.
The rate has cooled since late 2025, when inflation ran at 2.8% in December, before dropping to 2.4% in January and holding there in February. The February figure also marked the lowest year-on-year CPI inflation since December 2023, when the annual rate was 1.2%, according to the agency’s published series. Inflation is calculated by comparing the CPI level with the same month a year earlier, reflecting broad price movements faced by consumers across the Netherlands.
CBS said price developments for international flights pushed inflation higher in February. International flight prices were 0.2% higher than a year earlier, after being 9.7% lower year on year in January. Clothing and footwear price changes also contributed to upward pressure. The agency’s breakdown showed transport-related costs had a larger pull on the annual rate than a month earlier, even as several everyday categories posted more moderate year-on-year increases.
Food prices ease
Food and non-alcoholic beverages moderated and weighed on the headline figure, CBS said. Prices in that category were 1.2% higher than a year earlier in February, down from a 2.0% annual increase in January. In contribution terms, food and non-alcoholic beverages added 0.14 percentage points to overall inflation in February, compared with 0.24 points a month earlier. The easing helped offset firmer price changes in travel-related items and some consumer goods, within the CPI basket used for national tracking.
Housing and utilities made the largest single contribution to February’s annual CPI increase, accounting for 0.87 percentage points, down slightly from 0.93 points in January. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 0.35 points, while transport also added 0.35 points, up from 0.24 a month earlier. Miscellaneous goods and services contributed 0.22 points and recreation, sport and culture added 0.16 points. Clothing and footwear contributed 0.01 points after a negative contribution in January.
EU comparison
Alongside the national CPI, CBS publishes the European Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, a measure designed for comparison across the European Union. On that basis, Dutch inflation was 2.3% year on year in February, up from 2.2% in January. Euro area inflation rose to 1.9% in February from 1.7% in January. CBS notes that the harmonised measure excludes owner-occupied housing costs, which are reflected differently in the national CPI.
Within the harmonised index used for EU comparisons, CBS said energy including motor fuels was unchanged from a year earlier in the Netherlands, compared with a 3.2% annual decline in the euro area. Services inflation stood at 4.2% in the Netherlands versus 3.4% in the euro area, while non-energy industrial goods rose 0.4% versus 0.7%. Food, beverages and tobacco increased 1.4% in the Netherlands against 2.6% in the euro area, leaving the Dutch overall rate higher in February 2026.