Inflation in 19 Nations Using Euro Sets Record for 4th Month

Inflation in 19 Nations Using Euro Sets Record for 4th Month

Surging energy costs have driven inflation in Europe to another record high, raising questions about when the central bank should step in to ease the pain to people's wallets while Russia's invasion of Ukraine rattles the global economy.

Consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency increased by an annual rate of 5.8% in February, the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat, reported Wednesday.

The inflation reading smashed the record of 5.1% set last month — the fourth straight month it has hit an all-time peak — to reach the highest level since recordkeeping for the euro started in 1997. In comparison, US consumer prices rose 7.5% from a year earlier, the biggest jump in four decades, The Associated Press said.

The latest numbers underscore continuing pain for the continent's consumers and pile more pressure on the European Central Bank as it grapples with a decision on when to raise interest rates to combat high prices.

Inflation in Europe, as in other major economies, has been fueled by surging energy prices, and the problem will be complicated by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia, a major oil and gas producer, has been hit with sanctions and export restrictions that have raised worries that supplies