The war in Ukraine has already had far-reaching consequences for people around the world, and over the past week has resulted in significant changes to the prices of a number of goods in the Netherlands.
Prices were already on the rise, but since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, prices for oil and energy have increased further. UnitedConsumers reports that, over the course of Wednesday night, the price of Euro95 (E10) petrol rose by 2 cents to reach 2,275 euros a litre. This marks only the third time ever that drivers in the Netherlands have seen petrol prices rise at such a rapid rate. Diesel and LPG are also becoming more expensive, costing 1,963 and 1,201 euros a litre respectively.
One of the major issues is the rising price of gas, leading to higher energy bills for households, businesses and families across Europe. On Wednesday, the price of gas soared to 194 euros per megawatt-hour - a new record. The previous record was around 181 euros per megawatt-hour, set in December 2021.
In addition to rising oil and energy prices, with Russia and Ukraine’s statuses as major grain exporters, the price of wheat has soared over the past seven days, reaching its highest level since 2008 on Wednesday. This is likely to have knock-on effects on the prices of beer, bread, and other baked goods, as well as meat and eggs.
Russia is also a key exporter of raw materials such as iron ore, steel, and other metals. Supplies of nickel, aluminium, and platinum have already been affected by the crisis, with prices rising significantly over the past few days.
On Wednesday, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) presented the preliminary inflation figures for February. According to the European HICP method, inflation in the Netherlands fell slightly between January and February, from 7,6 percent to 7,2 percent.
However, experts note that this trend isn’t likely to continue, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the final days of February happened too late to have any real impact on the national inflation level, and that the ongoing war will cause further price increases over the coming months.