Inflation in Greece Eases as It Hits Record 10.6 % High in Eurozone

Inflation in the Eurozone areas hit a record high of 10.6 percent in October, up from 9.9 percent in September, according to the data released by Eurostat on Thursday. A year earlier, the rate was 4.1 percent.

This represents the highest-ever monthly reading since the eurozone’s formation. The nineteen-member bloc has faced higher prices, particularly on energy and food, for the past twelve months, but the increases have been accentuated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

The lowest annual rates were registered in France (7.1 percent), Spain (7.3 percent) and Malta (7.4 percent). The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (22.5 percent), Lithuania (22.1 percent) and Hungary (21.9 percent).

Compared with September, annual inflation fell in eleven member states but remained stable in three and rose in thirteen. The inflation rate in Greece in October fell to 9.5 percent, below the EU average.

The inflation rate in Greece had risen to 12 percent in September, up from 11.4 percent in August and 11.6 percent in July.

High inflation in the Eurozone to lead to rate hikes

Eurostat says that in October, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from energy (+4.44 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+2.74), services (+1.82 ) and non-energy industrial goods (+1.62).

The European Central Bank—whose primary target is to control inflation—recently confirmed rate hikes in the coming months in an attempt to bring prices down.

It said in a statement that it had made “substantial progress” in normalizing rates in the region, but it “expects to raise interest rates further, to ensure the timely return of inflation to its 2 [percent] medium-term inflation target.”

Speaking at a subsequent news conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde said the likelihood of a recession in the eurozone had intensified.