UPDATE - Euro area annual inflation hits double digits in October

UPDATE WITH MORE FIGURE

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The eurozone annual consumer inflation hit double digits in October, mainly due to higher costs of energy, according to flash data released by Eurostat on Monday.

Consumer prices in euro area soared 10.7% year-on-year in October, the largest rise on record, Eurostat data showed.

The inflation rate shot up from 9.9% in September 2022 and 4.1% in October 2021.

The market forecast was a 10.2% annual hike in consumer prices in the single currency zone.

Energy prices jumped 41.9% on a yearly basis in October, up from 40.7% in September while food, alcohol and tobacco prices were up 13.1% in the same period.

The annual core inflation rate, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to a record high of 5% in October.

On a monthly basis, euro area Consumer Prices Index rose 1.5% in October.

The main driver behind the surging inflation, energy costs, jumped 6.5% month-on-month in eurozone.

Last week, the European Central Bank hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, its third major increase in a row, bringing borrowing costs to their highest level in more than a decade to tackle record eurozone inflation.