Frankfurt, Feb. 2 (BNA): Inflation fueled by rising oil and gas prices hit record levels in Europe for the third consecutive month, adding to the pain for consumers and raising questions about the European Central Bank’s future moves, according to the Associated Press.
The European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported on Wednesday that the 19 countries using the euro currency saw consumer prices rise 5.1% annually in January.
The figure broke records of 5% in December and 4.9% in November and was the highest since record keeping began in 1997.
Once again, higher energy prices played a major role, up 28.6%. Oil prices rose as the global economy recovered from the worst of COVID-19 restrictions, while natural gas prices rose in Europe due to depleting winter reserves, reduced supplies from Russia and fears of renewed military action by Moscow against Ukraine.
High consumer energy bills are quickly becoming a political issue in Europe as governments provide subsidies and tax breaks to cushion the blow to household budgets.
Rising inflation makes it more expensive to buy everything from food to fuel and has been one of the factors holding back Europe’s recovery.
For example, gasoline prices in Germany hit a record 1,712 euros per liter, the ADAC Automobile Association reported on Wednesday.
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