Consumer prices in the euro zone rose by a record 7.5% year-on-year in March, putting pressure on the European Central Bank to tighten ultra-easy monetary policy faster than planned.

The biggest driver of inflation in the euro zone has been rising energy and food prices, which have soared since then Russia invades Ukraine The supply of oil, gas and other commodities has been hit.

This Flash estimation Compared with the previous record of 5.9% set in February, the rise in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices in March was well above the 6.6% average forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

Consumer prices in the euro zone rose well above the ECB’s 2 percent target, prompting some of its policymakers to call on the central bank to end its net asset purchase program early and raise interest rates for the first time in a longer period to cool demand. more than ten years.

Investors expect the ECB to raise interest rates by 0.63 percentage points by the end of the year, which will bring its main deposit rate back into positive territory for the first time since 2014, above its current record low of minus 0.5 percent. point.

Several ECB policymakers said they expected to raise interest rates this year, some such as Klaas knot in the Netherlandshas said it could do so twice this year.

“We think the ECB will soon come to the conclusion that it can’t wait any longer to start raising rates,” said Jack Alan Reynolds, senior economist at Capital Economics, predicting that the ECB will raise rates three times this year, for a total of 0.75 percentage points. percentage point.

But so far, the central bank has only announced plans End net bond purchases by Septemberwhen it will determine whether inflation will remain strong enough to justify a rate hike.

Some of its policymakers fear a war in Ukraine could Europe is in recession this yearwhile a sharp increase in the cost of living could undermine any rebound in consumer demand from the lifting of coronavirus restrictions.

“Maintaining data reliance and bilateral selectivity is particularly important in the current circumstances,” said ECB chief economist Philippe Philippe a speech Thursday.

Lane hinted that the unwinding of its ultra-easy policy could be accelerated if needed in response to “runaway inflation expectations, increased catch-up wage dynamics or continued deterioration in supply capacity.”

But he added, Monetary policy “normalizes” A slowdown could be possible if “the macroeconomic outlook deteriorates significantly due to energy price shocks and the Russia-Ukraine war.”

Energy prices across the euro zone rose 44.7% in March from a year earlier, hitting a record high, while unprocessed food prices rose 7.8%, Eurostat said on Friday. Industrial product prices rose 3.4 percent, while service prices rose 2.7 percent.

Even excluding volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, core inflation rose to 3% in March from 2.7% in February – highlighting how price pressure The base is getting wider and wider.

Eurozone countries have the highest annual inflation rate in Lithuania at 15.6%, while Malta has the lowest at 4.6%.

Euro zone consumer prices rose 2.5% in the February-March period, the highest monthly gain, underscoring the surge in inflationary pressures.

Inflation expected to continue rising as Ukraine war Exacerbating turmoil in energy markets This, combined with China’s zero-coronavirus blockade of key industrial sectors, has exacerbated supply chain issues that have left companies starved of materials.

Manufacturers in the euro zone reported the largest increase in ex-factory prices since the collection of such data began in the 1990s, according to S&P Global’s latest survey of purchasing managers released on Friday.