Eurozone Inflation Hits Highest Since Eurozone Formation The Daily Financial Trends

Eurozone

Eurozone inflation reached 10.7% in October, in the 19 countries which make up the bloc, according to new preliminary data released Monday.

Final figures will be released in November by Eurostat. If they confirm the preliminary figures, it would be the first monthly reading to exceed 10% since the formation of the Eurozone, which is giving new fears the bloc is entering an economic recession.

Energy prices drove the surge, coming in at an estimated 41.9% higher than one year prior. Food, alcohol, and tobacco prices rose 13.1% year over year.

Germany, France, and Italy were all major drivers of price increases. In Italy, where in October the annual rate of inflation was forecast at 12.8%, prices rose 4% for the month. In Germany consumer prices were up 11.6%, and in France prices were up 7.1%, according to the preliminary data.

In the Baltic states, inflation exceeded 20%, with Estonia having a 22.4% estimated increase in prices.

Governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco said in an interview Monday, “The danger that the deterioration of the economic outlook will turn out to be worse than expected, making an excessively rapid step in the normalization of interest rates disproportionate, shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Last Week the European Central Bank hiked its key interest rate 75 basis points to 1.5%, and confirmed it would be delivering further rate hikes in the coming months.

The Daily Financial Trends