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Prices at factory gates in the Eurozone jumped 5.2% month-on-month, more than double the market expectations for a record 30.6% year-on-year surge.
Source: Eurostat
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That surge was higher than the estimates from the economists surveyed by Reuters of a 27% year-on-year increase.
In the EU, industrial producer prices jumped by 10.7% in the energy sector, by 2.7% for intermediate goods, durable consumer goods 2.1%, non-durable consumer goods 1.5%, and 1.4% for capital goods.
The significant increase in producer prices was driven by an 11.6% monthly and 85.6% yearly increase in oil and gas prices, boosted by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The producer price increase will be an extra challenge for the European Central Bank as it is likely to increase consumer prices, which the bank wants to maintain at 2.0%.
Consumer inflation was already at a record-high 5.8% in February, with economists expecting the inflation to expand further.
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