Italy inflation surges to 5.4% in October as energy costs bite

The increase, which was well above the European Central Bank's eurozone inflation target of 2%, was mainly due to rising energy, food and transport prices, the agency said. It comes, however, as the eurozone economy grew more than expected in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, demonstrating resilience despite the impact of the Middle East war and surging energy costs. Economists said the single currency area's growth held up well but warned of the potential for stagflation - a nightmare mix of stagnant growth and high inflation.

The EU's statistics agency said GDP across the 21-country euro area expanded by 0. 4% in the third quarter, a slowdown from the 0. 6% seen in the second quarter.

The figure was higher than the 0. 2% predicted by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. But Ireland's whopping 5.

5% growth in the third quarter skewed the data, as economists said the euro area grew by 0. 2% excluding Ireland. "The eurozone economy seems to have shrugged off the Middle East crisis," ING chief economist Bert Colijn said in a note.

"Despite a worsening energy shock, the economy continues to be resilient. "He pointed to European industry benefiting from higher spending on defence and infrastructure, as well as the tech boom. Paolo Grignani, senior economist at Oxford Economics, said the data "paint a mixed picture for the eurozone with stagflationary tendencies: GDP growth held up well, but national inflation releases surprised to the upside".

Eurozone inflation hit a three-year high of 3. 8% in September, as the US-Israel war on Iran fuelled a surge in energy prices. With Europe heading for winter, experts warned there are challenges ahead.

Colijn said that "steadily" rising energy costs, including gas prices, means Europe "will see an additional growth challenge" in the winter. Uneven' pictureThe growth came despite France, the euro area's second-biggest economy, recording a quarterly GDP contraction of 0. 1%, deepening concerns about its public finances and growing political tensions ahead of presidential elections next spring.

The figure means that France's economy has not grown at all in 2026. There is already growing concern about France's problems since the country's bond yields - which affect the cost of government borrowing - surged to their highest levels since 2002 last week amid a standoff over next year's budget. Meanwhile, growth in Germany, Europe's largest economy, was higher than expected at 0.