To find such a high annual increase, we have to go back to November 1981, in West Germany.

The figure announced Wednesday by the national statistics institute is a record since the reunification of the country in 1990.

Over one month, inflation climbed 2.5%, further detailed Destatis.

The harmonized price index, which serves as a benchmark at European level, reached 7.6%, smashing the ECB's medium-term target of 2%.

The cause of this historic surge lies, according to Destatis, in "Russia's attack on Ukraine" which dashed hopes of seeing prices calm down after the increases of recent months caused by the persistent tensions on the chains of supply.

The conflict added to the imbalance between supply and demand that followed the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the supply of raw materials, components and energy struggling to keep pace with the recovery.

- Production suspended -

All European countries, as well as the United States, are concerned.

In Spain, inflation approached 10% in March.

For Germany, the first EU economy particularly dependent on Russian gas, the powerful industrial sector is taking the energy shock.

Faced with excessively high production costs, the Bavarian steelmaker Lech Stahlwerke decided in early March to temporarily shut down its factories.

The aluminum producer Trimet will halve its production in Essen (west).

Energy prices jumped 39.5% in March in Germany Ina Fassbender AFP/Archives

Energy prices jumped 39.5% in March in Germany, after increases of 22.5% in February and 20.5% in January.

At the end of the chain, the consumer is beginning to feel the effects of this surge, after years of sluggish inflation.

The Aldi group, one of the world leaders in low-cost distribution, has thus increased the prices of nearly 400 products, according to the specialized media "Lebensmittel Zeitung", from bakery, to detergents, through frozen products

Reasons invoked there again: the difficulties of international maritime freight, the Omicron wave, the shortage of truck drivers and the increase in the price of raw materials.

According to Destatis, the cost of food rose 6.2% in March, after 5.3% in February and 5.0% in January.

Russia and Ukraine are two world exporters of cereals, especially wheat for cattle.

The prices of nitrogen fertilizers, of which Russia is also one of the main exporters, and of energy, also contribute to this increase.

- The spectrum of the 20s -

The cocktail is explosive for the government in a country of savers where any price increase is associated with the fear of seeing its nest egg cut.

The hyperinflation of the 1920s left a deep mark on people's memories and is still considered one of the main causes of the rise of Nazism.

The current phenomenon also raises the specter of the stagflation of the 1970s - a mixture of sluggish economic growth and high inflation.

Berlin has already announced several billion euros in support measures, in particular a drastic reduction in the price of public transport subscriptions.

ECB President Christine Lagarde at a press conference in Nicosia on March 30, 2022, during a visit to Cyprus Iakovos Hatzistavrou AFP

The war has caused the growth forecasts for the current year to collapse.

The "wise men", experts who advise the German government, revised their forecasts for GDP growth for 2022 from 4.6% to 1.8% on Wednesday, while counting on record inflation at 6.1%.

Galloping inflation is also a concern for the guardians of the euro and is likely to accentuate the divisions within the ECB between supporters of raising key rates as quickly as possible and supporters of a more wait-and-see attitude.

Christine Lagarde, the president of the institution, worried on Wednesday about the risk of a lasting deterioration in the economy.

"The longer the war lasts, the greater the economic costs and the greater the likelihood of an unfavorable outlook," she said in Cyprus, calling on governments to invest to support the economy.

© 2022 AFP