Eurozone Inflation Surges to Record High of 8.1% on Rising Food and Energy Prices

Prices in the euro area continued their march higher in May, reaching a record high for the seventh consecutive month.

Source: eurostat

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Inflation stood at 8.1% for the month, up from the record high of 7.4% in April and higher than the estimate of 7.8%.

Across the eurozone, the record increase in consumer prices was attributable to surging energy costs, which reached 39.2% (from 37.5% in April) and a 7.5% increase in prices of food, alcohol, and tobacco.

Even excluding volatile energy and food prices, inflation rose from 3.5% to 3.8%.

Rising prices have been heightened over recent months by the war in Ukraine, largely food and energy costs as exports are restricted, and countries across the West try to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.