Eurozone Inflation Rate Surpasses 3% for First Time in Three Years...Possibility of Interest Rate Hikes

First Time Since September 2023

The Eurozone—which consists of 21 countries using the euro—has seen its consumer price inflation rate exceed 3.0%.

On the 5th (local time), a pedestrian passes by a sculpture related to the European Central Bank (ECB) ahead of the Eurozone monetary policy press conference held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

According to a preliminary estimate released by Eurostat, the European statistical agency, on June 2 (local time), consumer prices in the Eurozone rose by 3.2% year-on-year and 0.1% month-on-month in May.

This marks the first time in two years and eight months that the Eurozone's consumer inflation rate has surpassed 3.0%, with the last occurrence in September 2023 (4.3%).

After recording 1.7% in January, the Eurozone inflation rate has risen for four consecutive months, remaining above the European Central Bank's (ECB) medium-term target of 2.0%.

The market expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points at its monetary policy meeting on the 11th, with the possibility of another increase by the end of the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.