Inflation hits record high of 7.4% in countries using euro

BRUSSELS (AP) — Inflation has hit a new record for the 19 countries that use the euro. The record comes as skyrocketing fuel prices boosted by the war in Ukraine add new burdens to household finances and weigh on a slowing economic recovery from the latest outbreaks of COVID-19. Annual inflation hit 7.5% for April, the highest since statistics started in 1997 and the sixth record in a row, topping the old record of 7.4% from March. Energy prices jumped a startling 38%, a testimony to how the war and the accompanying global energy crunch are affecting the eurozone’s 343 million people.