Eurozone inflation jumped to 3.3% in August, up from 2.9% in July and reaching its highest level in nearly three years.

The increase was driven primarily by energy prices, which rose 14.3% from a year earlier as the conflict in the Middle East pushed up oil and gas costs.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, eased slightly to 2.4%, suggesting broader price pressures remain more contained.

The sharp increase puts additional pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates as inflation moves further above its 2% target, Euro News has reported.

The ECB is expected to consider another rate increase at its September 10 meeting, although officials remain concerned that higher borrowing costs could weaken economic growth.