In the euro zone, the inflation rate has once again risen to a record level. Consumer prices increased in June by 8.6 percent year-on-year, as the statistics office Eurostat announced on Friday in Luxembourg after an initial estimate.

Economists had expected an average rate of 8.5 percent. In the previous month, the price increase was 8.1 percent.

The inflation rate in the euro area has never been so high since the introduction of the common currency as book money in 1999. Since the summer of 2021, inflation has increased continuously, with record levels recently being reached. The war in Ukraine and the tough corona measures in China exacerbated the upward trend in prices. Month-on-month, consumer prices in countries with the single currency rose 0.8 percent in June, up from 0.7 percent that had been expected.