Eurozone’s yearly inflation rate soars by 2.6 percent last month

(MENAFN) On Tuesday, Eurostat released flash estimates indicating that the euro area’s annual consumer inflation rate rose to 2.6 percent in July, reflecting an uptick driven primarily by a faster increase in energy costs. This figure represents a slight increase from June's rate of 2.5 percent, and it surpassed market expectations that had anticipated stability in the inflation rate. The data reveals that energy prices grew by 1.3 percent year-on-year in July, a notable acceleration compared to the 0.2 percent increase observed in June.

Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy, remained steady at 2.8 percent in July, maintaining the same rate as the previous month. This indicates that inflation pressures, when excluding the more fluctuating elements, have remained stable. Services continued to exhibit the highest annual inflation rate within the euro area, recording a rate of 4 percent in July. This was a slight decrease from the 4.1 percent rate noted in June, suggesting a minor moderation in service-related price increases.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index for the euro area showed no change in July, indicating stability in the overall price level when compared to June. However, energy prices experienced a month-on-month increase of 0.9 percent in July, reversing the 0.8 percent decline seen in June. This change underscores the volatility in energy costs and their impact on overall inflation metrics.

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