Brussels, December 1, 2008 : Inflation in the eurozone reached a record high in November due to rising energy prices.Eurostat reported. Tuesday’s statement by the EU statistical office stated that at a rate 4.9 percent, it was the fastest year on year increase since 1997 when records were first kept for the 19-country currency region.October’s inflation was already at 4.1%.
Eurostat reported that consumer prices were again driven by an increase in energy costs.This is compared to 23.7 percent in October.
France saw a 3.4% rise in inflation.But it was Germany, one of the largest economies in the bloc, that saw prices soar, pushing the inflation rate to 6%.
Bert Colijn, an ING expert, says inflation will “undoubtedly fall again over the course 2022”, but “we don’t expect inflation to drop below 2 percent for late 2022.”
Colijn stated that “while second-round effects are largely absent for the moment, medium-term pressures are increasing” and that he expects wage growth to rebound in 2022.
Maeva Cousin is an economist who covers the euro area for Bloomberg Economics.She said that although energy costs and statistical effects can explain the bulk of December’s jump, today’s reading revealed some stronger than expected underlying pressure.
“This will increase the concern about upside risks to the outlook but the European Central Bank is still likely to see inflation fall below 2 percent by the end 2022.”
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