Eurozone inflation eases to 3.8% in August

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

BRUSSELS (AFP) — Inflation in the 15 countries sharing the euro eased in August to 3.8 percent from a record 4.0 percent in July as oil prices cooled, according to a first official EU estimate on Friday.

With oil trading at record highs close to 150 dollars a barrel, annual consumer price inflation in the eurozone had reached in July the highest level since the euro was formed in 1999.

However, since then, oil prices have gradually pulled back and a barrel of crude was going for about 117 dollars a barrel in Asian trading on Friday.

Driven by soaring oil and food prices, high inflation has been pinching consumers' purchasing power and businesses' margins as they struggle to cope with a fast deteriorating economy.

© 2008 AFP