In 19 EU member states, which use the euro currency, the average inflation rate in the past year until November has reached record 4.9%, with Lithuania being the unfortunate leader with a 12-month price increase of 9.3%, British news portal The Guardian reports.
The EU statistics agency Eurostat stated on Tuesday, November 30, that its early flash reading of inflation in November had reached the highest level since relevant records began in 1997, two years before the euro was launched.
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High gas prices and the cost of imported goods were blamed for the inflationary surge. Energy prices, including oil and gas, jumped 27% from November 2020, Eurostat said, to increase the headline rate from 4.1% in October.
In Estonia, the inflation rate jumped 8.4%, while in Lithuania it reached 9.3%.
France suffered a 3.4% inflation increase, its highest in a decade, but it was in Germany among the bloc’s largest economies where prices rocketed, taking the inflation rate to 6%. Other economies have also been buffeted by similar inflationary pressures since the summer. The US recorded an inflation rate of 6.2% in October, the biggest 12-month jump since 1990, The Guardian reports.
Inflation in euro area reaches record 4.9%, highest – in Lithuania
