Eurozone Inflation Climbs 10% on Rising Energy Prices

The eurozone's annual inflation rate edged up to 2.9% in July from 2.8% in June, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat on Friday.

The increase was mainly driven by renewed energy price pressure, with energy prices expected to rise 10.0% year-on-year in July, up from 8.5% in June.

Services inflation also rose to 3.3% from 3.2% a month earlier, while food, alcohol and tobacco prices were estimated to rise 1.2% year-on-year, down from 1.5% in June.

Inflation rates increased in three of the eurozone's largest economies in July: Germany (2.8%), France (2.4%), and Spain (3.8%). Italy's rate edged down to 2.9% from 3.0%.