consumer
Inflation in the eurozone climbs to a record 4.9 percent
Life has become even more expensive in the euro zone. Photo: picture alliance / Julian Stratenschulte / dpa
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The medium-term inflation target of the European Central Bank (ECB) is two percent. This is currently clearly exceeded.
Inflation in the euro area increased further in November and reached the highest rate in the history of the common currency area.
Consumer prices rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year, as the Eurostat statistics office in Luxembourg announced after an initial estimate. In October the rate of price increase was 4.1 percent. Analysts had expected the rate to rise to 4.5 percent on average. Compared to October, consumer prices rose by 0.5 percent.
The inflation rate in November was once again driven by an extremely sharp rise in energy prices, which rose by 27.4 percent compared to the same month last year. Food and beverages were 2.2 percent more expensive than a year ago. Industrial goods and services became more expensive. Excluding energy, food and beverages, the price level rose by 2.6 percent. This so-called core rate is viewed by many economists as a reliable measure of inflation.
The medium-term inflation target of the European Central Bank (ECB) of two percent will be exceeded significantly. The central bank rates the development as temporary and anticipates falling inflation rates in the coming year. The ECB has not yet signaled any rate hikes.