Eurozone: Annual inflation at a new high of 7.5% in March, Greece at 8%

Inflation is expected to climb to a new all-time high in March, drawing new momentum from the unstoppable rally in energy prices, according to preliminary data released today by Eurostat.

In particular, annual inflation is expected to reach 7.5% in March 2022, from 5.9% in February, as announced by the European Statistical Office. Analysts’ average estimates in a Bloomberg poll put annual inflation at 6.7%.

Looking at the key elements of inflation, energy is expected to show the highest annual rate of change again in March (44.7% compared to 32.0% in February), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (5.0% compared with 4.2%), non-energy industrial goods (3.4% compared to 3.1%) and services (2.7% compared to 2.5%).

The structural index, which does not include energy and food, is expected to grow 3% year on year from 2.7% in February, according to Eurostat estimates.

For Greece, Eurostat data place inflation at 8% in March, after an annual increase of 6.3% in February 2022 and while in March 2021 inflation was at -2%.

The data show an “explosion” of inflation in all economies of the zone, with double-digit percentages in Lithuania (15.6%), Estonia (14.8%), the Netherlands (11.9%) and Latvia (11.2%). . In Germany, the largest European economy, inflation climbed to 7.6%, while in France, the second largest, to 5.1%. In the region, Italian inflation reaches 7% and Spanish 9.8%, according to Eurostat estimates.

The rally in inflation in recent months has forced the European Central Bank to adjust its strategy, announcing the end of the bond buying program in the third quarter in order to pave the way for higher interest rates at the end of the year. In a recent speech, ECB President Christine Lagarde warned that “Europe is entering a difficult phase”, predicting “short-term, higher inflation and slower growth”.