BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Belgium's economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter, flash figures from the National Bank of Belgium showed on Thursday.
Separate official data showed that consumer price inflation accelerated further in October to the highest level in nearly three-and-a-half years.
Gross domestic product grew seasonally and calendar-adjusted 0.3 percent sequentially in the third quarter, following a 0.1 percent increase in the second quarter.
The value added in the service sector grew 0.4 percent, and that in the construction sector rose 0.2 percent. On the other side, the industrial sector logged a contraction of 0.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, the economy advanced at a stable pace of 0.7 percent.
Consumer price inflation climbed to 5.26 percent in October from 4.69 percent in September, figures from the statistical office showed. Moreover, this was the highest inflation rate since April 2023, when prices rose 5.6 percent.
The acceleration in inflation was mainly driven by a 33.2 percent surge in energy prices. Inflation based on the health index rose to 4.53 percent from 4.0 percent. Services costs were 4.73 percent higher, while the deflation in food products eased to 0.18 percent from 0.28 percent.
Excluding energy products and unprocessed food, core inflation softened somewhat to 2.8 percent from 3.0 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
