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Eurozone inflation rate hits record 4.9% in Nov

01 Dec '21

2 min read

Pic: Marlee | Dreamstime.com

Eurozone inflation reached its highest rate on record in November due to high energy costs, likely peaking before a slow decline that will keep it high for much of the next year, according to Eurostat data that showed consumer price growth in the 19 countries sharing the euro accelerated to 4.9 per cent in the month, by far the highest level in 25 years.

The figure was up from 4.1 per cent a month earlier and well ahead of expectations of 4.5 per cent.

Energy prices were up 27 per cent compared with a year earlier as oil prices soared but inflation in services and non-energy industrial goods, a drag on price growth in past years, were both above 2 per cent, suggesting a rapid rise in underlying price pressures, according to a global newswire.

Although inflation is now more than twice the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2 per cent target, it is unlikely to trigger any policy action. ECB has long argued that the inflation surge is temporary, caused by a range of one-off factors, and will subside over time so policy action now would be counterproductive as it would thwart economic growth just when inflation eases on their own.

ECB’s next meeting is scheduled on December 16.

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