Inflation in the euro zone rose to 1.7% in July, its highest level in nearly two years, European Union data showed today. The figure confirmed a previous estimate.
The 12-month rate had slipped to 1.4% in June, but has risen almost continuously from 0.5% last November as the bloc emerged from the worst recession since the 1930s.
Inflation in the euro zone in July was the highest since November 2008, when it stood at 2.1% - just above the European Central Bank's core economic target of 2%.
In the wider, 27-nation EU, which includes Britain, annual inflation rose to 2.1% in July compared to 1.9% a month earlier, the EU's Eurostat data agency said.
