Eurozone Inflation Reaches 4% in October, Highest in Three Years

According to Mehr News, citing Reuters, annual inflation in the 21-member eurozone rose from 3.8 percent in September to 4 percent in October 2026, in line with the forecasts of economists polled by Reuters and the highest in three years. Higher energy and food costs were named as the main drivers: energy inflation was about 20 percent, while core inflation, which excludes energy and food, held at 2.5 percent.

Unprocessed-food inflation was reported at 4.6 percent, services inflation at 3.3 percent (against 3.2 percent the month before) and industrial-goods prices rose 1.2 percent. The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged last week, but several policymakers, including the heads of the German and Italian central banks, have raised the possibility of a hike at the December meeting. The ECB's forecast is for inflation to stay above 4 percent for most of the first half of 2027 before moving quickly toward the low end of the 2 percent range.