The all-time high since the country entered Eurozone noted the harmonized consumer price index in Hellas in September “rose” to 12.1% from 11.2% in August, according to estimates announced yesterday Eurostat. The all-time high was also marked inflation in the Eurozone, hitting a double-digit percentage of 10% for the first time, belittling estimates that it will hover below the 10% “barrier” at 9.7%. OUR energy as well as food lie at the heart of the problem, but revaluations now extend to all categories of goods, industrial, non-energy and services. The developments, especially for natural gas, are far from positive, while the jump in producer prices in the industry – 39.5% in August 2022 compared to August 2021 – recorded by ELSTAT in Greece, portends many more rounds of consumer price increases. ELSTAT data on the National Consumer Price Index for September is due to be released on October 10th.

With a harmonized consumer price index of 12.1%, Greece ranked sixth in terms of inflation in the Eurozone in September and the highest change in the index on a monthly basis, 3%, among the countries of the 19th year. The highest inflation in September was again recorded in Estonia (24.2%) and the lowest in France (6.2%).

According to available Eurostat data, in September Greece ranked third in terms of energy inflation, at 53.3% (compared to 50.4% in August), after the Netherlands (113.8%) and Belgium (67.2%). Energy inflation in the Eurozone was 40.8% in September from 38.6% in August.

Supermarkets have already received new price lists to raise prices for a number of goods.

Given that the energy crisis is expected to worsen in winter, no de-escalation of prices is expected. Supermarkets have already received new price lists for revaluation of a number of goods for which there were no very large increases in the previous period, such as, for example, direct household items (laundry, cleaning, stationery, etc.) and personal care and beauty items.

An indication of what will follow in the next period is that producer prices in industry and even in vital sectors recorded very large increases during the year. In the production of petroleum products, the annual increase in producer prices (for the domestic market) is 78.5%, in the supply of electricity 69.5%, in the paper industry 14.2% and in the food industry 9.7%.

A wave of rising prices, “eating away” disposable income, is already leading to a suppression of demand. According to ELSTAT, the retail turnover index increased by 11.9% in July 2022 compared to July 2021, but the increase in the sales volume index was only 0.5%. In fact, the apparel and footwear sector recorded a 16% decline in sales volume and a 12.9% decrease in sales value year on year.