Inflation in Ireland has climbed to more than 3 per cent again driven by higher energy and food prices.
The latest flash estimate for the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) put the annualised rate of price growth at 3.2 per cent in November, up from 2.8 per cent.
This compares to a rate of 2.1 per cent for the euro zone as a whole.
A breakdown of the components for Ireland indicate that energy prices were estimated to have grown by 0.7 per cent in the month and rose by 3.3 per cent over the 12 months to November.
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Food prices are estimated to be unchanged in the month and increased by 4.2 per cent in the past 12 months, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.
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The acceleration in basic grocery costs is now the main financial pressure on households here. Retail analysts Worldpanel by Numerator estimates food inflation here is now running at more than 6 per cent.
Inflation as measured by the HICP, which is different to the CSO’s official barometer of inflation - the CPI (consumer price index) - had fallen to almost zero at the end of last year on the back of falling energy prices.
However, economists have warned that statistical base effects would see inflation temporarily increase in the second half of 2025.
The Irish HICP figure will feed into wider inflation numbers for the euro zone as a whole due out on Tuesday.
With headline inflation for the euro zone hovering at 2 per cent, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target rate, Frankfurt has halted a series of interest rate reductions.
Last month, the bank kept interest rates unchanged again, insisting monetary policy was in a “good place”.
While the inflation across the bloc has lessened on the back of recent events including the EU-US trade deal, the fallout from US tariffs means the outlook remains relatively unclear.
