Eurozone annual inflation hits a record high for the sixth consecutive month

Eurozone inflation in April 2022 is expected to be 7.5%, hitting a record high for the sixth consecutive month.

This month’s 7.5% is up from 7.4% in March, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.¹

The euro area annual inflation rate was 5.9% in February 2022, 5.1% in January, 5.0% in December 2021, 4.9% in November, 4.1% in October, 3.4% in September, 3.0% in August, 2.2 in July, and 1.9% in June.

Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in April (38.0%, compared with 44.4% in March), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (6.4%, compared with 5.0% in March), non-energy industrial goods (3.8%, compared with 3.4% in March) and services (3.3%, compared with 2.7% in March).

In March, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from energy (+4.36 percentage points, pp), followed by services (+1.12 pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+1.07 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.90 pp).

Governments, as well as households, are already feeling the effects of high inflation, AP reports.

As one of the results, Germany is dropping a charge for supporting renewable energy on electric bills, saving a family of four around 300 euros a year.²

Inflation is also putting uncomfortable pressure on the European Central Bank to look at raising interest rates from record lows.

References:

¹ Flash estimate – April 2022 Euro area annual inflation up to 7.5% – Eurostat – April 29, 2022

² Inflation hits record high of 7.5% in countries using euro – AP – April 29, 2022

Featured image credit: eurostat

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