Eurozone Inflation Jumps Amid Energy Price Shocks

Sharp inflation in several major eurozone economies has intensified pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates again. The jump in inflation was driven by a surge in energy prices linked to the Iran war, according to Reuters.

France's harmonized inflation rate reached 3.4% year-on-year in September, up from 2.6% in August, while Italy's rate jumped to 4.1% from 3.2%. Both figures exceed the ECB's 2% target.

Mariana Monteiro of J.P. Morgan noted that energy inflation has come in above expectations everywhere, and food inflation has also exceeded forecasts, though by a smaller margin.

The national figures precede the euro zone inflation release due on Friday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting inflation to reach 3.6% in September, up from 3.2% last month.