German inflation hit modern high of 10.4% in October

German consumer price inflation accelerated to a post-reunification high in October, in track with initial estimates, on rising energy and food prices, final data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Friday, reported dpa.

Consumer price inflation accelerated to 10.4% in October, from 10.0% in September. The rate came in line with the flash estimate.

It was the strongest inflation increase in about 70 years.

"The main reasons for the high inflation are still enormous price increases for energy products. But we are also increasingly observing price increases for many other goods and services," explained Georg Thiel, president of the Federal Statistical Office.

Energy prices alone surged 43.0% from last year as a result of the war in Ukraine and supply bottlenecks. In turn, food prices advanced 20.3%.

Excluding energy and food, inflation was 6.5%. Prices of goods were 17.8% more expensive compared to last year, and those of services rose 4.0%.

EU harmonized inflation accelerated to 11.6%, in line with flash data, from 10.9% in the previous month.

Based on the Bundesbank's projections, harmonized index of consumer prices inflation is expected to rise to 7.1% on average in 2022.

Month-on-month, consumer prices gained 0.9% percent as estimated, the statistics office reported.

The harmonized index of consumer prices moved up 1.1% after rising 2.2% in September. The final figure matched the preliminary estimate published earlier.

The European Central Bank's main mandate is to maintain price stability in the eurozone by reducing inflation to below 2%.