Annual inflation in the euro zone exceeded expectations in November, marking the first drop in euro zone inflation since June 2021, AFP and the Financial Times reported, Agerpres reported.

Inflation in the eurozone is breaking record after recordPhoto: DreamsTime

Annual inflation in the eurozone fell to 10% in November 2022 from a record high of 10.6% in October, according to a preliminary estimate published by Eurostat on Wednesday.

The figure announced by Eurostat is better than analysts’ estimates, which expected a 10.4% increase in prices.

The decline in inflation in the eurozone is mainly due to energy prices registering a 34.9% increase in October, significantly lower than the 41.5% increase recorded in October.

In contrast, food price inflation continued to accelerate from 13.1% in October to 13.6% in November. In addition, Eurostat data showed that core inflation, the inflation that remains after the prices of volatile goods such as energy and food, continued to rise to 6.6% from 6.4% in October.

Core inflation is a measure that the ECB monitors closely when developing its monetary policy decisions.

Countries with the highest inflation in the euro zone

Among the countries of the eurozone, the highest inflation was recorded in the Baltic countries, all with price increases of more than 20%, the leader being Latvia (21.7%), followed by Estonia and Lithuania (both with inflation of 21.4%).

At the opposite pole, the lowest price growth was recorded in Spain (6.6%) and France (7.3%).

The fact that inflation fell in November should ease pressure on the European Central Bank, which has had to launch the fastest rate hike in its history this year to keep inflation under control, which is five times its 2% target.

However, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Monday that she would be “surprised” if inflation peaked in October, suggesting there was a risk that inflation could continue to rise in the coming months, so monetary tightening would continue.

“I would like inflation to peak in October, but I think there is too much uncertainty to say that it has happened,” the ECB president said during a hearing in the European Parliament.