Is Europe emerging from the inflationary crisis? The question is worth asking as the euro zone’s annual inflation rate fell in October. At 2.9% over one year, this is a very marked slowdown after standing at 4.3% in September and 5.2% in August. Inflation has thus reached its lowest level in more than two years, Eurostat announced on Tuesday.
The figure is better than expected by Factset analysts who expected on average a slowdown of 3%. The inflation rate in the 20 countries sharing the single currency is approaching the 2% target set by the European Central Bank (ECB), although it still remains significantly above.
This decline in inflation is mainly explained by the fall (-11.1% over one year) in energy prices, while the increase in food prices (7.5%), services (4.6%). %) or industrial goods excluding energy (3.5%) slowed down.
The ECB left its rates unchanged last week after ten consecutive increases in its key rates aimed at stemming soaring inflation, an unprecedented monetary tightening which weighed on the economy. But the institution warned that inflationary risks, accentuated by the war in the Middle East, remained too high to envisage the slightest reduction.