Inflation in the 19 European countries that share the euro hit a 13-year high, challenging the European Central Bank’s (ECB) view that price pressures are largely benign and will soon fade. Consumer price inflation in the eurozone accelerated to 3.4 percent over the year in September, up from 3 percent a month earlier and 2.2 percent the month before that, according to Oct. 1 data (pdf) from Eurostat, the European Union’s statisics agency. That’s the highest reading since September 2008 and slightly ahead of analyst forecasts of 3.3 percent. A surge in energy costs was behind the bulk of the inflationary pressure, with energy prices rising 17.4 percent over the year and 1.3 percent over the month in September. Factors behind the run-up in energy costs in Europe include a demand rebound from the lows of the pandemic recession, OPEC production caps, and global transport bottlenecks. Lackluster output from Europe’s …