Global inflation is likely to be much more persistent than expected. Although prices have slowed down recently, it looks like it will be a long time before high inflation is really curbed. This is what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects.
Worldwide, the IMF expects inflation to be 7 percent this year. Next year, global prices would rise by another 4.9 percent.
The fact that inflation has now fallen slightly is mainly due to food and energy prices, says IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. Partly due to the mild winter, energy prices are no longer as high as they were just following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. But many other products and services are still rapidly becoming more expensive.
The chief economist also points out that wages around the world are still rising less quickly than prices, which means that people’s purchasing power is actually deteriorating.
Prices will also rise further in the Netherlands. While the IMF previously thought inflation would be 4.2 percent in 2023, that has now been revised down slightly to 3.9 percent.
Inflation here is likely to rise once more to 4.2 percent next year, the IMF thinks. Probably because the energy price ceiling and the excise duty reduction for petrol will then no longer apply.