Inflation in the Eurozone rises to a record level, an impact is expected in Albania as well

2022-10-31 18:31:18Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Inflation in the eurozone rises to a record level

Eurozone inflation is estimated to have reached a new record high of 10.7% in October, according to Eurostat's preliminary estimates.

If confirmed later in November, when final data comes out from Eurostat, the European Union's official statistics agency, it would be the first inflation reading to exceed the 10% mark.

The increase was driven by energy prices, which Eurostat estimates were 41.9% higher than in the same month last year. Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco, meanwhile, are believed to have increased by 13.1% year-on-year.

Inflation was 9.9% in September.

The Baltic countries are the most affected countries with annual inflation remaining above 20%. Estonia tops the list with a rating of 22.4%.

France remains the least affected country, although annual inflation for the month of October is estimated to have reached 7.1%. Italy, whose annual rate is forecast at 12.8%, meanwhile posted the highest month-on-month growth with a jump of 4%.

The European Central Bank, whose mandate is to keep inflation in the euro zone close to 2%, has since the beginning of the summer reversed a cycle of more than a decade of negative interest rates in an effort to limit rising prices.

Last week, it announced its third major interest rate hike.

Central banks use their interest rates to make money more or less expensive in order to either curb or stimulate spending, as base rates directly affect the rates commercial banks offer to households and businesses.

The bank predicted that further such increases are expected in the coming months as "inflation remains very high and will remain above the [2%] target for an extended period".

ECB chief Christine Lagarde also warned that economic activity in the eurozone is likely to "slow down significantly in the third quarter of the year and we expect a further weakening in the remainder of this year and the beginning of next year".

Her prediction came just a day after the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered the grim prediction that half of the countries in the eurozone could enter recession in the coming months.

A recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

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