Eurozone inflation hits record high amid soaring food and energy prices

Rate of 8.1% exceeded expectations

Inflation in the eurozone reached 8.1% in May, preliminary figures from Europe’s statistics office showed, hitting a new record high for the seventh month in a row as food and energy prices soared.

The inflation rate was up from April's record high of 7.4% and higher than expectations of 7.8%. The core rate, which excludes food and energy prices, also posted an unexpected increase to 4.4% from 3.9%. It comes after recent inflation data from a number of major European economies surprised to the upside. Preliminary numbers released on Monday revealed that German inflation rose to an annual 8.7% in May, indicating a significant increase from the 7.8% reported in April. In May, inflation in France rose to a new high of 5.8%, up from 5.4% in April, while harmonised Spanish consumer p...