Eurozone inflation beats all forecasts with record 4.9%

Anticipating a spike in inflation this month, ECB officials have redoubled efforts in recent days to reassure citizens that they are facing a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living squeeze that won’t endure, driven by energy and a series of one-time factors. While president Christine Lagarde (pic) is sticking to that script

LONDON: Eurozone inflation surged to a record for the era of the single currency and exceeded all forecasts, adding to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) challenge before a crucial meeting this month on the future of monetary stimulus.

Consumer prices rose an annual 4.9% in November, beating all 40 predictions in a Bloomberg survey of economists, where the median was for 4.5%.