BRUSSELS, July 1 (ABC):Eurozone inflation accelerated to another record high in June, official data showed on Friday, as the consequences of the Ukraine war continued to hammer the European economy. The EU’s Eurostat data agency said the increase in consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro reached 8.6 percent in June, leaping from the previous record of 8.1 percent a month earlier.
Consumer prices in the eurozone have hit records since November, buffeted by sky-high energy prices caused by the fallout of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine. The European Central Bank has said it will do whatever it takes to bring inflation back to its target level, with political pressure high to bring energy and food prices into check. At the ECB’s last meeting, policymakers agreed to the bank’s first interest rate hike in more than a decade.
The quarter-point raise, set to take place at its next meeting on July 21, will raise rates from their historic lows. “We will go as far as necessary to ensure that inflation stabilises at our two percent target over the medium term,” ECB head Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday.