Partial reports indicate that inflation and physical economic collapse is on the move in Europe. Wheat prices reached €237 per ton at the Paris market this morning. Flour prices in Italy have increased 38%, and pasta producers cannot find durum wheat anywhere. Luigi Gabriele, chairman of the Consumerism Association of Italy, pointed his finger at financial speculation and called on governments to intervene.
Elsewhere in Europe, inflation in Turkey was 19.9% in October. In Spain, a 22.2% increase of raw material prices is threatening one-fourth of construction companies with shutdown (see slug). In Germany, the natural gas crisis is worsening. The consumer portal “Check24” reported, according to Bild, that 98 gas providers have increased their prices or announced price increases. While in some cases, prices have doubled, on average the increases are at 17.3% and involve about 560,000 households.
