Inflation in European Union is now higher than in Britain

Inflation in the European Union is now higher than in Britain as rising energy and food prices hit families on the continent. 

A report by official statisticians Eurostat showed prices across the 27-nation bloc were 10.1 per cent higher last month than in August 2021. 

That was a sharper rise than the 9.9 per cent increase in the UK, and underlined the scale of the cost of living crunch around the world. 

Among EU countries, inflation was highest in Estonia at 25.2 per cent and lowest in France at 6.6 per cent. In the eurozone it was 9.1 per cent. 

That was the highest rate since the euro was created in 1999. 

Prices around the world have been driven higher by rising energy and food costs in the wake of the Ukraine war as well as the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised rates in the eurozone by an unprecedented 0.75 percentage points last week and said further hikes were on the way. 

Speaking at the French central bank yesterday, ECB president Christine Lagarde conceded that rate increases could hit growth. 

‘It’s possible, but it’s a risk we have to take,’ she said.