Consumer prices in the 19-member currency bloc have risen by 8.9% in the past year, the highest rate ever recorded
Annual inflation in the Eurozone reached a record 8.9% in July, the latest data from the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed on Thursday.
The increase from 8.6% recorded in June is mostly down to energy prices, climbing steadily since the start of the year. The Consumer Price Index reached 7.4% in April and 8.1% in May.
Meanwhile, consumer prices in the 19 nations using the euro saw modest month-on-month growth of 0.1%.
Eurozone energy prices rose by 4.02% from June to July. Other key inflation drivers were food, alcohol and tobacco, which edged up 2.08%. Meanwhile, prices for services and non-energy industrial goods saw growth of 1.6% and 1.16%, respectively.
In July, the European Central Bank announced an interest rake hike for the first time in 11 years. The regulator vowed further interventions in the coming months, despite the risk of a recession.
READ MORE: Bloomberg warns of EU recession
Germany’s annual inflation hit 8.5% in July, following a slight decline during the previous month. Inflation rates in France and Italy were 6.8% and 8.4%, respectively. The Baltic states are still among the worst-hit, with Estonia seeing inflation of 22.7%, Lithuania 20.8%,and Latvia 21%.
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US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
