Luxembourg’s annual inflation rate jumped to 3.6% at the end of November, according to early data from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat, rising from 3% a month previously.
Luxembourg’s 0.6% jump between months was the second highest among the group of 20 countries which use the euro as their currency, according to the data published on Tuesday. It was the highest after Greece, which saw its rate surge from 1.6% to 2.9%, and puts the Grand Duchy far above the euro area’s average annual inflation rate of 2.2% in November.
Eurostat flash estimates give preliminary inflation data for euro area countries as soon as the previous month ends, whereas confirmed data released later on in the month includes a rate for both eurozone countries and the wider European Union.
If the confirmed data, due for release by Eurostat on 17 December, remains unchanged, this would represent a 0.1% rise on October across the euro area, remaining close to the European Central Bank’s target of 2%. Luxembourg’s estimated 3.6% inflation rate, meanwhile, is approaching double the target.
Services continue to be the biggest driver of price rises across the bloc, according to Eurostat – followed yet again by food, alcohol and tobacco. Europe’s energy prices were 0.5% cheaper in November compared to a year earlier, which is slightly less than the 0.9% annual deflation seen in October.
Only Austria, Croatia and Estonia had annual inflation rates above 4% in November, as they also did in October. At the other end of the spectrum, just two member states saw annual inflation rates below 1% – Cyprus and France – which were both unchanged since October.
Luxembourg’s official statistics agency, Statec, will release its monthly inflation data – which uses slighly different methodology from Eurostat – on 8 December. Statec calculated October’s annual inflation rate for Luxembourg to be 2.7%.