Eurozone annual inflation spiked to 4.1% in October, while economic growth accelerated to 2.2% in the third quarter, preliminary Eurostat data showed on Friday, according to Politico.
Headline inflation significantly exceeded expectations of a 3.7% rise and hit the highest level since 2008.
Looking ahead, analysts expect persistent shortages of materials, equipment and labor to drag on growth while continuing to push up prices.
Strong annual headline inflation continues to be driven by price spikes in energy. Core inflation, excluding volatile components such as energy and food, stood at 2.1%, close to the European Central Bank‘s 2% target.
Third-quarter data showed that GDP for the bloc grew 2.2% from 2.1% in the second quarter was helped by the lifting of coronavirus restrictions across the continent.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said Thursday that rising energy prices, the recovery in demand and supply bottlenecks are currently pushing up inflation.
“While inflation will take longer to decline than previously expected, we expect these factors to ease in the course of next year. We continue to foresee inflation in the medium term remaining below our 2% targets,” she said.