(March 27): Spanish inflation jumped to its highest level since June 2024 due to the Iran war, supporting the case for the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates. Soaring energy prices brought on by the conflict in the Middle East are stoking fears of an inflation spike like the one that struck four years ago. The latest ECB outlook envisages prices will rise 2.6% this year, surpassing the 2% target. “Higher energy prices drove the sharp rise in Spain’s inflation, in the first clear sign of the toll the Middle East conflict is taking on the euro-area economy. With energy prices showing no signs of easing, the risk is the Iran war might push the ECB to lift rates,” says Ana Andrade of Bloomberg Economics.

Source: The Edge Markets March 27, 2026 11:57 UTC