Agriflation strikes

Eurozone inflation jumped in October to 2.6%, well above the just-below-2% rate targeted by the European Central Bank. That sort of unexpected inflation gives the ECB grounds to raise interest rates and irritate Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, even more than an American TV interviewer. But Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, is likely to refrain from annoying his compatriot. After all, as Sarko would be the first to point out, eurozone growth prospects are deteriorating. What has pushed ...