2021.09.1710:40:00UTC+00Eurozone Inflation Accelerates As Estimated In August

Eurozone inflation accelerated as initially estimated in August to a near decade high, final data from Eurostat showed on Friday.

Inflation rose to 3 percent in August from 2.2 percent in July. This was the highest since November 2011 and also exceeded the European Central Bank's 2 percent target.

Rising costs - from shipping to energy - are likely to push euro-zone inflation up even further in the coming months, Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

They might also mean that it does not fall quite as quickly next year as currently assumed, said Allen-Reynolds. "But by the end of 2022, we still suspect that inflation will be a long way below the ECB's target."

Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, advanced to 1.6 percent from 0.7 percent in July. The core rate also matched the flash estimate published on August 31. On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices gained 0.4 percent in August, as estimated.

According to the latest ECB staff projections, released early this month, inflation will rise to 2.2 percent this year before slowing to 1.7 percent in 2022.