Ordinary Ledger: heating oil up 84.5%, electricity down 5.2%, and an average of 2.8% that lives in nobody's house

The Federal Statistical Office confirmed this morning what it estimated at the end of October: consumer prices were 2.8% higher than a year earlier, down from 3.3% in September¹. “Energy prices remained mainly responsible,” said its president, Ruth Brand, adding that the fuel tax cut reintroduced at the start of October “may have dampened” the rise somewhat¹.

Now look inside the average, because that is where households live. Energy as a whole was 12.2% dearer than a year ago, after 14.9% in September¹. Fuels were up 28.9%¹. Light heating oil was up 84.5%¹. Firewood and pellets rose 14.5%². And electricity, the one energy bill many people dread most, was 5.2% cheaper than a year earlier².

So two neighbours on the same street can have very different Octobers. The one with an oil tank and a diesel commute has met inflation several times the headline. The one with an electric heat pump and a bicycle has met something closer to the 2.1% core rate, which strips out energy and food¹. Net rents without heating rose 1.9%².

Desk arithmetic: if your household spent €100 a month on electricity a year ago, the same use now costs about €94.80; €100 of heating oil then is about €184.50 of oil now.

None of this is a scandal; it is a measurement, published on schedule, with its components laid out for anyone to read. That is the useful part. Before you decide how worried to be about “inflation”, look up the three or four lines that match your own bills. Your rate is in the table, not the headline. Nothing here is investment advice.