Eurozone inflation rose faster than expected in the year to May, setting a new record for the single currency bloc of 8.1 per cent and piling pressure on the European Central Bank to speed up the withdrawal of its ultra-loose monetary policy.
The surge in eurozone price growth, from 7.4 per cent the previous month, was much higher than forecast by economists, who had expected 7.7 per cent according to a Reuters poll.
The increase was mainly driven by an acceleration in energy prices, which increased 39.2 per cent in May, while the price of food, alcohol and tobacco also grew at a faster rate of 7.5 per cent, according to data released by Eurostat on Tuesday.