Record inflation: Which country in Europe has been worst hit and how do they compare?
Europe’s expected economic bounceback from the coronavirus pandemic has been hampered by a number of factors in recent weeks, and every corner of the continent is facing rising prices.
Inflation for the whole of the European Union is expected to reach 6.8 per cent this year, as Russia’s war on Ukraine - and the breakdown of economic relations between Moscow and most of the rest of Europe - continues to hit economies.
The European Commission has revised the bloc’s growth forecast down, with the Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni describing the cut in growth as "one of the steepest" ever done between forecasts.
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Outside of the EU, the UK’s in-flation rate surged to 9 per cent, its highest annual rate since 1982. Russia is facing inflation of 17.8 per cent.
Here is a look at the inflation rate in each country in Europe:
What’s causing these inflation rates?
Europe and much of the wider world were already being hit with soaring energy prices - which contribute to inflation - before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
The conflict has exacerbated the energy crisis by fuelling global worries it may lead to an interruption of oil or natural gas supplies from Russia.
Russia is the EU's top supplier of oil, natural gas, and coal, accounting for around a quarter of the bloc’s total energy.
What would sanctions on Russ-ian energy mean and why is Europe reluctant to impose a ban?
An EU ban on coal from Russia is due to come into effect in August, and a voluntary effort is underway to reduce demand for Russian natural gas by two-thirds this year.
A proposed oil embargo has hit roadblocks amid reservations from some landlocked countries that are highly dependent on Russian oil, such as Hungary.
But the prices of many com-modities - crucially including food - have also been rising ever since COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns were first introduced two years ago, straining global supply chains, leaving crops to rot, and causing panicbuying in supermarkets.
The war in Ukraine again dra-matically worsened the outlook, as Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley, and two-thirds of the world's exports of sunflower oil used for cooking. Ukraine is also the world's fourth-biggest exporter of corn.
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The United Nations food agency said prices hit an all-time record in February and again in March, and the World Bank forecasts wheat prices could rise more than 40 per cent this year.
Gentiloni also warned things could get even worse than EU statisticians are currently forecasting.
"Our forecast is subject to very high uncertainty and risks," he said. "Other scenarios are possible under which growth may be lower and inflation higher than we are projecting".