Inflation across eurozone hits record high of 4.9%

BRUSSELS (AP) — Official figures show that consumer prices across the 19 countries that use the euro currency are rising at a record rate. The European Union’s statistics agency said Tuesday that the eurozone’s annual inflation rate hit 4.9% in November, largely as a result of a huge spike in energy costs. That’s the highest since records began in 1997 and up from 4.1% the previous month. Like others around the world, the eurozone, which is made up of 19 economies including France and Germany, is enduring big price hikes as a result of the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and blockages in supply chains.