Fashion pulse: Belgium — April 2026

Consumer prices (April)

Belgian headline CPI jumped to +4.01 percent year-on-year in April 2026 per Belgium's national statistics office StatBel, up sharply from plus 1.65 percent in March — but the leap was overwhelmingly an energy base effect, not a broad-based surge. Housing and energy prices swung from minus 3.0 percent in March to plus 3.0 percent in April and transport accelerated to plus 7.8 percent, while CPI excluding energy rose far more modestly to +3.49 percent from +2.54 percent. The April headline sits well above the 2 percent the European Central Bank (ECB) targets for the euro area, though the underlying ex-energy picture is calmer.