September inflation at 12.1%
In September the European Union-harmonized consumer price index in Greece reached its highest point since the country entered the eurozone, climbing to 12.1% from 11.2% in August, according to estimates Eurostat announced on Friday.
Inflation in the eurozone also hit a historic high, reaching a double-digit rate for the first time, at 10%, disproving estimates it would fluctuate below 10%, at 9.7%. Energy and food are at the core of the problem, but now the hikes are spreading across all commodity categories.
The developments, especially regarding natural gas, are anything but positive, while the jump in producer prices in the industry – 39.5% in August 2022 compared to August 2021 – recorded by ELSTAT in Greece point to many more rounds of consumer price hikes. ELSTAT’s data for the National Consumer Price Index for September are scheduled to be announced on October 10.
With a harmonized consumer price index of 12.1%, Greece had the sixth highest inflation in the eurozone last month and the highest change in the index on a monthly basis – i.e. 3% – among the 19 member-states. The highest inflation in September was recorded once again in Estonia (24.2%), and the lowest in France (6.2%).
Eurostat data showed Greece had the third highest energy inflation in September, 53.3% (from 50.4% in August), after the Netherlands (113.8%) and Belgium (67.2%). Energy inflation in the eurozone stood at 40.8% in September from 38.6% in August.
Given that the energy crisis is expected to worsen, the de-escalation of prices is nowhere to be seen on the horizon. At supermarkets, new price lists have already arrived with hikes of a series of products, in which there had not been very large increases in the previous period, such as, for example, household and personal hygiene items.
Producer prices in industry and other vital sectors have recorded a very large yearly increase. In fuel production, the increase in producer prices was 78.5%, in the supply of electricity 69.5%, in the paper industry 14.2% and in the food industry 9.7%.
