THE HAGUE, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands' inflation rate rose to 3.4 percent year-on-year in September, up from 3.3 percent in August, according to a flash estimate released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Friday.

"The increase was largely driven by higher energy prices, particularly the recent rise in fuel prices," said Aggie van Huisseling, a senior economist at the Group Economics department of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, on Friday.

According to CBS, energy prices, including motor fuels, rose 13.9 percent year-on-year in September, accelerating from an 11.6-percent increase in August. Meanwhile, inflation for non-energy industrial goods stood at 1.5 percent, up slightly from 1.4 percent in August.

Dutch fuel prices have continued to rise recently amid conflicts in the Middle East. According to Dutch consumer platform United Consumers, petrol cost an average of 2.709 euros (3.05 U.S. dollars) per liter on Friday, while diesel stood at 2.769 euros (3.12 U.S. dollars) per liter.

"Nevertheless, we expect the pass-through of higher energy prices to the broader inflation basket to remain limited compared to the previous energy crisis," Van Huisseling added.

The economist expects inflation to remain above 3 percent both this year and next year. ■

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