Eurozone inflation rocketed in March to set a new record as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove energy prices higher, thus adding pressure on the European Central Bank to tighten policy earlier than planned. Consumer price annual inflation jumped to 7.5 percent from 5.9 percent in February, preliminary data from the statistical office Eurostat showed Friday. Economists had forecast 6.6 percent inflation. Core inflation, which excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, accelerated to 3.0 percent from 2.7 percent. Economists were looking for a 3.1 percent increase. The latest headline inflation figure is more than triple the ECB target of 2.0 percent. Economists widely expect Eurozone inflation to average 6.0 percent or higher this year. Among the main components, energy inflation surged to 44.7 percent in March from 32.0 percent in February. Food, alcohol & tobacco prices rose 5.0 percent compared with 4.2 percent in February.
Prices of non-energy industrial goods rose 3.4 percent after a 3.1 percent increase in February. Services costs climbed 2.7 percent following a 2.5 percent gain in the previous month. Inflation figures across Europe are setting new records amid runaway energy prices that are driven by concerns regarding sanctions and supply of Russian gas. Germany, which depends considerably on Russian gas, has taken steps to curtail energy consumption over fears that supplies may be halted due to price disputes.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.