The inflation rate in the eurozone hit a new high in August, at 9.1% year on year, Eurostat announced on Wednesday August 31, as the war in Ukraine stokes a spike in energy prices and food. A figure which turns out to be the highest by the European statistics office since the start of the publication of the indicator in January 1997. In Spain, inflation slowed in August but also remained above 10%, a level not seen since the mid-1980s. It also accelerated in Italy, to 9%, a record level for at least 40 years. The situation is also exceptional in Germany, where the surge in prices is also close to this figure. Never had the reunified country experienced such a level of inflation. However, for the first time in more than a year, inflation slowed in France in August according to INSEE: around 6.5%, the lowest rate in the eurozone.
As fears of a gas shortage swell with the approach of winter, the Russian group Gazprom announced on Wednesday that it was suspending its gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream gas pipeline. This interruption must last three days. It is, according to Gazprom, linked to work in a compressor station, located in Russia, of this gas pipeline which directly connects the Siberian gas fields to the north of Germany, from where the gas is then exported to other countries. In July, Gazprom had already carried out ten days of maintenance work on Nord Stream.
On Tuesday, the Russian giant had already announced that it would suspend its deliveries to the French group Engie from Thursday. Gazprom accuses the French this time of not having paid in full for the deliveries made in July.
The soaring dollar pushed other major currencies at their lowest level against the greenback in years, with the pound tumbling around 0.4% to a two-and-a-half-year low of $1.1570 as clouds are piling up over the UK economy. The pound lost 4.6% in August, its biggest monthly decline since October 2016.
Cable saw the dollar strengthen again yesterday. GBPUSD opened at 1.1649 and closed at 1.1622.
GBPEUR the pound continues its weakening trend against the euro with -0.72% loss yesterday. The pair opened at 1.1640 and closed at 1.1552.
EURUSD saw the euro recover yesterday. The pair opened at 1.0014 and closed at 1.0057 marking a +0.45% gain for the European currency.
