Eurozone inflation hits 20-month high

Eurozone annual inflation hit a 20-month high in July at 1.7%, figures from Eurostat show.

This is an increase of 0.3% from the previous month, and the highest rate since November 2008. It compares to a rate of -0.6% in July 2009. Monthly inflation in the 16 member countries was -0.2% in July this year. The inflation number was driven upwards by higher costs of fuel, alcohol and tobacco. Meanwhile, in the 27 nations of the European Union, prices were up 2.1% in July, from 1.9% in June. One year earlier the rate was 0.2%, while monthly inflation in July was -0.2%. Several countries including Spain, Greece and Portugual raised their VAT rate last month, pushing inflation h...