Italian Inflation Hits Record for Third Straight Month on Energy
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Italian inflation surged to a record for a third straight month, heaping more pressure on the European Central Bank after higher-than-expected readings from Spain and France. Â
Consumer prices jumped 6.2% from a year earlier in February, the Istat statistics institute said Tuesday in a statement -- more than the 5.5% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Energy was once again the main driver, with costs soaring 27.3%. The government has pledged to continue offsetting the spike for consumers, having already spent more than 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion). Prime Minister Mario Draghi is also considering reopening shuttered coal plants to help bridge supply gaps caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Â
The ECB has mapped out its exit from pandemic stimulus measures in the face of record euro-zone price gains, though that retreat is now at risk of being complicated by fallout from the war in Ukraine. Germany will report inflation data later Tuesday, before euro-area data are released Wednesday.
Spain on Monday reported the quickest inflation in 33 years, with Economy Minister Nadia Calvino urging an overhaul of the European Union's power market. She proposed decoupling natural gas from electricity costs in its price-setting mechanism to reduce the impact on energy prices.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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