German Inflation Hits Another All-Time High In May

German inflation hit another all-time high, adding urgency to the European central bank’s exit from crisis-era stimulus after numbers from Spain also topped economists’ estimates.

Driven by soaring energy and food costs, data released Monday showed consumer prices in the continent’s biggest economy jumped 8.7% from a year ago in May. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted an 8.1% advance.

The report comes just 10 days before a crucial ECB meeting where officials are set to announce the conclusion of large-scale asset purchases and confirm plans to raise interest rates in July for the first time in more than a decade.