European consumer prices hit highest level in over 13 years

A woman wearing a hat decorated with a plug and a bulb during a protest against the increase of the price of electricity in Madrid, Spain (Manu Fernandez/AP)

Consumer prices across the 19 European Union countries that use the euro have risen to the highest level in more than 13 years, thanks to soaring energy prices and pent-up demand during the pandemic recovery.

Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said inflation across the bloc rose to 4.1% in the year to October, up from September’s equivalent rate of 3.4%.