Inflation Hits Record 10 Percent in 19 EU Countries Using Euro

A cashier changes a 50 Euro banknote with US dollars at an exchange counter in Rome, Italy, on July 13, 2022. Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo

FRANKFURT, Germany—Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency has broken into double digits as prices for electricity and natural gas soar, signaling a looming winter recession for one of the globe’s major economies as higher prices undermine consumers’ spending power.

Consumer prices in the 19-country eurozone rose a record 10 percent in September from a year earlier, up from an annual 9.1 percent in August, EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday. Only a year ago, inflation was as low as 3.4 percent.