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Economists at ABN Amro and RaboResearch said they were not alarmed by the rise in inflation in January, and they do not think that prices will again rise as quickly as they did at the peak about a year and a half ago. Earlier on Thursday, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported in a preliminary estimate that annual Dutch inflation had increased to 3.2 percent in January, from 1.2 percent in December. Economists Jan-Paul van de Kerke and Hugo Erken expect price increases to be lower in the coming period. ....
The inflation figure published by Statistics Netherlands on Thursday does not match what people are actually feeling at this moment, said Rabobank RaboResearch economist Hugo Erken. “It’s a fake reality.” ....
The Dutch economy is not in great shape but will likely avoid a recession. This is the sentiment shared by economists in anticipation of economic figures that Statistics Netherlands (CBS) will release on Wednesday. "We are in a period of muddling through," said economist Hugo Erken of Rabobank. In the first three months of the year, CBS reported a contraction of 0.3 percent. If the economy shrinks again in the second quarter, then by standard definitions, the Netherlands would technically enter a recession, marking two consecutive quarters of decline. ....