Prices in Europe UP

Bloomberg has been reporting record Euro-zone inflation since last month. Plus when various countries wean themselves off Russian gas, costs of heating and cooling will spike too (they probably already have). Along with covid/labor shortages/etc, that's a LOT of economic disruption.

Agnes, my electric bill took a big hit with new rates last month. For most cooling costs wont go up (what cooling?)

It's gonna be a tough winter in Europe. My neighbors near Heidelberg would seal off rooms on the winter and just heat what was necessary. That was a shock coming from a young airman from West Virginia. The town was Leiman, actually. Anyway, previously high energy costs in Germany will soon be seen as a blessing.

We were in Germany for the month of May and then the UK for 4 weeks mid July to August. We didn’t notice big price differences from month to month or country to country perhaps because the exchange rate was so much better than it is some years. A big difference we did notice was the price of groceries was so much less in these two countries than we ever pay at home. Since we stayed part of each of these months in private homes, the grocery prices were very budget friendly. When we ate out, always one meal per day, we rarely spent more than 40€ or £50 for 2 drinks and 2 dinners (correction, these are USD prices. We were checking our cc statements). This is a pattern we’ve seen over a lot of years and weren’t surprised by restaurant menu prices. The biggest inflationary thing we noticed in both countries were the gas prices that were the equivalent of $8.50/gal all summer.

This is an example of how inexpensive grocery prices were for us. I looked at our receipt 3x. We went to a nearby Tesco on our first day in the house. We bought some food items for about 3-4 breakfasts, two lunches, one dinner and two bottles of wine. The total bill was £35. Many items were something like 49p or £1.19. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything in a grocery store here that cost less than a dollar. The same groceries here would have cost almost $100.

I noticed that my two star hotel in Paris Gare du Nord is 125 Euro. Pre-pandemic it was never so high in the summer, which is always when I was there.

Prices in western France were higher this year, but due to Covid, it’s been three years since we were there. We took our own car over and noticed that fuel prices were significantly higher, reflecting world markets - they rose more than 40c a litre whilst we were there. It was still cheaper than U.K. fuel.

French inflation is currently over 6% per annum. French supermarkets are always more expensive than in the U.K., other than for wine.

In the U.K., everything has increased, due to Covid and Brexit staff shortages and rampant fuel prices due to the Ukraine war. The cost of heating an average home for this coming winter is estimated to be £4,200 pa compared to £1,200 pa last year so this is going to impact on accommodation prices. Inflation is approaching 10% and estimated to go higher so wages are going to increase, causing a further jump in prices. Some basics in the supermarket have increased by 10-15% such as bread.

The hot weather this summer has been a disaster for many farmers, with many harvests likely to be reduced or failed crops, which will also push prices up. My local news reported yesterday that apples are undersized due to a lack of rain and the fruit is cooking on the tree due to the hot weather. Supermarkets are likely to reject the fruit as it’s not up to their standards.

Grocery costs in the UK have risen sharply. What would typically cost me around £100 for a weekly shop for a family of four is now closer to £170. I noticed in Tesco yesterday that a pack of their finest bacon was on 'offer' for two for £8, a few months ago one pack was £2.75.

Well, the price of a liter of beer at Oktoberfest is going up about two euro over 2019 prices, ranging from 12.60 to 13.80 euro depending where you park your carcass

For most cooling costs wont go up (what cooling?)

Depends who you're talking about. Some businesses depend on refrigeration (grocery stores, etc) and air con (hotels, offices, museums that have to preserve fragile pieces, etc). Inflation hits tourists, businesses and locals differently - all depends on what basket of goods you regularly purchase and can't go without (your personal inflation gauge may be different than the broad term used by economists). I don't buy meat or cook or rent a car when I'm on vacation, so grocery or gas prices in Europe are not likely to affect me but labor shortages within the tourist infrastructure (airlines, airports, lodging, restaurants, etc) will. Most locals (including business owners) have to deal with supply shortages of goods and labor and the outfalls of the war in Ukraine. Tourists will deal with inconveniences that have already trickled down (flight cancellations....etc)

I've noticed a pattern in hotel prices I booked across 5 countries in April thru May 2023 and another country in September thru October 2023. It's a pat 200€ in nearly all of them. That's much higher than their 2022 prices.

I remember before the EU and introduction of the Euro, it was very inexpensive to travel to Spain. After both events, there was a huge increase in prices and Spain was no longer as inexpensive as it had been. On my two trips earlier this year, I didn’t think prices had gone up too much, other than petrol. Prices in the U.S. have increased equally, so it’s not just Europe.

You’re correct. Prices have increased everywhere. My medium coffee at Dunkin costs 18% more than it did 2 months ago.

@no aku birds - on May 27, 2017 we stayed at a hotel in Santo Domingo de la Calzada at it was 142,2€. Surprisingly, we stayed at the same hotel on the same date and for the same type room this year and the price was less; 135,45€.

Is this a surprise? Headlines about inflation have been at the forefront of every major news outlet for months now.

We are all paying more for everything

Their GDP per capita has gone up by about a third over that period, it's not all inflation.