Inflation in the euro zone rises to 5.0 percent in December

Frankfurt Consumer prices in the euro zone are down in December 5.0 percent increased compared to the previous year, announced the European statistics authority Eurostat on Friday morning on the basis of a preliminary estimate. In November the rate of inflation was already 4.9 percent – the highest level since the beginning of monetary union.

The value is thus above the target of two percent that the European Central Bank (ECB) is striving for in the medium term for the euro area. The central bank recently raised its inflation forecast for this year significantly. However, it continues to assume that the current price surge is a temporary phenomenon, which is primarily related to special factors caused by the pandemic. For example, with the rise in oil prices after the corona shock, delivery bottlenecks and the withdrawal of the VAT cut from the second half of 2020. Critics, on the other hand, are warning of the dangers of inflation and calling for monetary policy to be tightened more quickly.