Inflation is transferring in numerous instructions in Europe. It hit 6.8% in Germany and 1.6% in Spain

FILE – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde delivers a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Leading global central bankers reassured on Wednesday 28 June 2023 that they would not back down. Their sharp hikes in interest rates suggest inflation is more stubborn than expected but still downplays recession fears stemming from their rate hikes.Jean-Francois Badias/AP

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Inflation is moving in different directions in Europe, rising in Germany and falling again in Spain, official figures said on Thursday.

German consumer prices rose 6.8% year-on-year in June, compared with 6.3% in May, state statistics office Destatis said. Analysts say the number was boosted in part by a widespread sale of cheap public transport tickets last summer.

The surge in Europe’s largest economy comes a day ahead of the release of inflation figures for the entire 20-nation area that uses the euro. Eurozone inflation fell to 6.1% in May from a peak of 10.6% in October.

But that’s still well above the 2% target set by the European Central Bank. ECB President Christine Lagarde warned at the bank’s July 27 meeting that inflation was so stubborn that it warranted at least one more rate hike.

Higher interest rates are central banks’ main anti-inflation tool.

Meanwhile, lower food and energy inflation meant Spain’s consumer price index rose just 1.6% yoy in June, compared to 2.9% in May.

Adrian Prettejohn, European economist at Capital Economics, said that the low Spanish interest rate is unlikely to affect the ECB’s decision-making, “as country-specific factors mean that inflation in Spain is much lower than in other countries.”