Inflation down on Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba
In Q3 2023, consumer goods and services on Bonaire were 1.9 percent more expensive than one year previously. Inflation stood at 4.6 percent in the previous quarter. On St Eustatius, prices decreased by 1.1 percent year on year in Q3, while they increased by 3.3 percent in Q2. On Saba, inflation amounted to 2.8 percent in Q3, down from 5.2 percent in the previous quarter. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of the Caribbean Netherlands’ consumer price index.
Prices on Bonaire 1.0 percent up on the previous quarter
Relative to Q2 2023, prices on Bonaire rose by 1.0 percent in Q3. Transport was the main cause for this rise; airline ticket prices went up by 15.0 percent relative to the previous quarter. In addition, prices of clothing and footwear increased by 2.8 percent. Food prices rose by 1.0 percent in Q3 relative to the previous quarter.
The rise in the third quarter was slowed down by the cost of energy, which fell by 14.2 percent relative to the previous quarter due to a reduction in the variable energy tariff as of 1 July.
Prices on St Eustatius 1.6 percent lower than in the previous quarter
Consumer prices on St Eustatius fell by 1.6 percent in Q3 2023 relative to the previous quarter. The decrease was mainly caused by lower energy prices. Just as on Bonaire, the variable energy tariff was lowered here as of 1 July.
Transport became cheaper as well, with airline ticket prices falling by 3.9 percent. Petrol was 7.6 percent cheaper, while the price of diesel dropped by 20.0 percent relative to the previous quarter.
The price development of clothing and footwear had an upward effect; these products increased in price by 9.4 percent.
Saba recorded 0.8-percent price increase relative to Q2
In Q3 2023, consumers on Saba paid on average 0.8 percent more for goods and services than in the previous quarter. Prices of clothing and footwear rose by 6.5 percent and airline ticket prices by 7.3 percent. Home maintenance products fell in price by 6.0 percent on the previous quarter. Furthermore, the price of electricity was down by 8.0 percent, also due to a reduction in the variable tariff.
Provisional figures
Figures referring to Q3 2023 are provisional and will be definitive upon publication of the figures over Q4 2023.
Sources
StatLine - Caribbean Netherlands
https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/en/dataset/84046ENG/table?dl=22EB4