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Eurozone inflation hits record 8.1% amid rising energy costs

02 June 2022 01:29 (UTC +04:00)

Eurozone inflation hit a record 8.1% in May amid surging energy and food costs fueled in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine, APA reports.

Annual inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency soared past the previous record of 7.4% reached in March and April, according to the latest numbers published Tuesday by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat.

Inflation in the eurozone is now at its highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.

Soaring prices are weighing on household finances and making it more urgent for officials to act quickly to head off further increases in the cost of living.

Energy prices jumped 39.2%, highlighting how the war and the accompanying global energy crunch are making life more expensive for the eurozone’s 343 million people.

“Energy inflation is likely to remain higher for longer than previously expected,” after the European Union agreed to embargo most Russian oil imports by the year’s end, said Andrew Kenningham, chief European economist at Capital Economics.