Eurozone inflation hits 4%: Which countries saw prices jump the most?

Eurozone inflation rose to 4% in October, its highest level in more than three years, as soaring energy bills kept pushing up the cost of living across the bloc. The flash estimate from Eurostat showed annual inflation climbing from 3. 8% in September, exactly in line with the 4% economists had expected.

Prices rose 0. 4% in October alone compared with the previous month. It is the highest reading since September 2023, when inflation ran at 4.

3%. It also means prices are now rising at twice the pace of the European Central Bank's 2% target. Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco because their prices swing sharply from month to month, held steady at 2.

5%. That also matched forecasts. The gap between the two figures tells the story of the month.

Energy is doing most of the damage, while underlying price pressure is, for now, standing still. So where did prices rise fastest, and what does it mean for the ECB's next move? What pushed eurozone inflation higher in October?

Energy, once again. Energy prices were 20. 8% higher than a year earlier, up from 18.

9% in September, and climbed 1. 4% in October alone. Energy carries a weight of about 9% in the euro area shopping basket.

At a 20. 8% annual rate, it added roughly 1. 9 percentage points to the 4% headline figure, almost half of the total.

Services inflation, which covers items such as rents, restaurants, holidays and insurance, edged up to 3. 3% from 3. 2%.

Services make up close to half of the basket, so even small moves there matter for the overall rate. Food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose 1. 6%, up from 1.

3%. Inflation in unprocessed food, such as fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, accelerated to 4. 6% from 4%, a sign that the energy shock is now reaching supermarket shelves.

Non-energy industrial goods, which include cars, clothing and household appliances, rose 1. 2%, up slightly from 1. 1%.

Which countries saw the biggest increases? Italy, by a wide margin. Italian inflation jumped to 5.

6% from 4. 2% in September, the largest increase in the euro area. Italian prices rose 1.

2% in a single month, also the biggest monthly rise in the bloc. National figures published on Friday had already pointed to the jump, driven largely by regulated energy . Belgium followed, with inflation rising to 5.