Producer price inflation in the eurozone surged to a record high in the year through April, though month-over-month data showed inflationary pressures edging down, as European Central Bank officials consider how fast and how much to tighten monetary settings to tame soaring prices.
The E.U. statistics office Eurostat said in a June 2 statement (pdf) that the euro area’s producer price index, which tracks inflation before it hits consumers, rose by an annual 37.2 percent in April, the fastest pace on record.
Yet the month-over-month data showed a drop in the pace of producer price acceleration, suggesting that wholesale inflation in the eurozone may have peaked and a series of softer readings could be in the pipeline. In April, euro area producer prices rose by a monthly 1.2 percent after surging 5.3 percent in March, which was a record pace….