In January, inflation had reached 5.1%, which was already the highest level recorded by the European statistics office since the start of this indicator in January 1997 for the 19 countries that have adopted the single currency.

Since November, each month has risen to a new all-time high.

Rising consumer prices are still fueled by soaring oil, gas and electricity prices.

Energy prices soared by 31.7% over one year in February, after +28.8% in January.

But the increase in food prices (including alcohol and tobacco) also accelerated last month, to 4.1%, after 3.5% in January.

This acceleration also affects the other components.

Industrial goods rose by 3% over one year in February, after 2.1% the previous month.

The prices of services remain relatively wiser (+2.5% in February, against 2.3% in January).

This general increase, greater than what economists predicted, is very bad news for households, some of whom are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

It is also a headache for the European Central Bank (ECB), which monitors price stability.

Current inflation is well above its target of 2%.

The fighting in Ukraine is fueling the worst fears on the economic front, particularly in terms of price hikes.

First announced last year as temporary, this phenomenon is set to last.

Russia is the EU's main gas supplier and the world's second largest oil exporter.

But it is also a major agricultural power, just like Ukraine.

Russia is also a major supplier of metals for industry.

Unpredictable situation

Markets are already panicking, worried about the consequences of the conflict for global supply.

Benchmark crude oil prices soared Wednesday to levels not seen in nearly a decade, to more than $110 a barrel.

Record also for the European benchmark price of natural gas, the Dutch TTF, which soared Wednesday to 194.715 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

The ton of aluminum, of which Russia is the world's third largest producer, peaked on Wednesday at 3,552 dollars in London, a historic high.

Milling wheat and maize prices are also at their highest in Europe, as are soybean and palm oils.

Russia and Ukraine are the world's largest and fourth largest exporters of wheat, respectively, as well as sixth and fourth for corn, according to estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"The invasion of Ukraine by Russia will probably determine the prices of gas and oil in the months to come" and "international sanctions will increase the risk of further increases", worried Fritzi Köhler-Geib, economist of the German public bank KfW.

But "it's not just energy anymore. Food prices are also rising due to the conflict, and this increases fears of high inflation in the coming months," said Bert Colijn of ING bank.

"The situation concerning Russia and Ukraine is currently evolving so quickly that no one can predict its actual impact on the economy", he added, considering that the ECB should in this context refrain from any commitment important on its monetary policy for the current year.

Jack Allen-Reynolds of Capital Economics, however, ventures a prognosis.

He anticipates a very likely rise in inflation to "more than 6% in the coming months" and thinks that it will remain above 2% until next year "if not longer still" .

© 2022 AFP