Soaring eurozone inflation is threatening fresh difficulties for the European Central Bank as it fights to calm tensions in financial markets that are casting a shadow over economic growth in the 13-country region.

Energy and food prices pushed inflation in Germany this month to the highest level since at least 1995, leading economists to forecast the annual eurozone figure, released today, would reach 3 per cent or above for the first time in more than six years. That would pose a serious challenge to the ECB, which pledges to keep inflation “below but close” to 2 per cent.