Blog | The rise of AI has driven a blistering rally in the tech sector, bringing stock market valuations to levels last seen during the dot-com bubble. Although AI is reshaping the economy, do today’s high valuations bear the risk of an abrupt and painful setback in the euro area? Valuations on the US stock market, as measured by the CAPE ratio, are currently close to their historical peak. Euro area equity valuations have also risen, albeit to a lesser extent...

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Governments have good reasons to use tariffs or sanctions for geopolitical purposes but should consider the trade-offs. Governments worldwide increasingly are using economic policies, such as export bans, financial sanctions, and trade tariffs, to achieve noneconomic goals. The benefits of these geoeconomic policies can be significant, accomplishing a geopolitical purpose without threatening, or using, military force—and without the high human and economic costs of war. Perhaps the world should welcome this. Yet coercive policies can be costly for nations that impose...

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Overall, 92% of companies with physical points of sale accept cash Cash acceptance rebounds after decline observed during and after pandemic Cash widely valued for privacy and reliability, while acceptance of mobile payments rises sharply According to the latest survey on the use of cash by companies in the euro area published today by the European Central Bank, cash acceptance has rebounded slightly. In 2026, 92% of companies selling goods and services in physical locations in the retail trade, restaurants and cafés,...

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From 12 August 2026, new rules on packaging and packaging waste apply in the EU. This will change the way products are packaged to protect the environment and people’s health. It will also create opportunities for businesses. Packaging uses large quantities of raw materials and generates waste that ends up in landfills or the sea. Some chemicals used in packaging can also be harmful. The new rules address these issues by setting requirements for the manufacturing and composition of all packaging placed on the EU market. They also require...

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Blog | Retail fuel prices have surged in 2026 following the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, driving up euro area energy inflation. In this blog, we examine the factors that drive fuel price dynamics at the pump. Rising oil prices amid the conflict in the Middle East have put the public spotlight back on fuel costs and their potential impact on inflation. This blog post explains how changes in crude oil prices feed through to what consumers...

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Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index declined to 4.2% in June 2026, down from 4.6% in May. Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 4.2% in June 2026, down from 4.6% in May (Table 1, Figures 1 and 2), following three consecutive monthly increases. Headline inflation declined in 20 OECD countries, rose in 6, and was stable or broadly stable in 12. In June, headline inflation...

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On 2 August 2026, new rules on the transparency of AI systems take effect. AI is advancing quickly, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish AI-generated and manipulated content from human-created and authentic content. This creates new risks of misinformation and manipulation at scale, fraud, impersonation, and consumer deception. The new transparency obligations will help people recognise when they are interacting with AI or are exposed to AI-generated content, so they can make informed decisions and better protect themselves from misinformation or deception. Click here to access explanatory video. Transparency...

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Blog | Sustained rebalancing requires policy action in both surplus and deficit countries Global current account balances increased further in 2025, driven primarily by China, where the current account surplus recorded the largest widening in at least two and a half decades. This was offset by some narrowing in the United States and the euro area. As our latest External Sector Report shows, China’s current account surplus increased by about $300 billion last year, the largest widening in absolute terms since at least...

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Blog | Energy prices are surging again, pushing up inflation in the euro area. This ECB Blog post examines whether firms are attributing this to a demand surge or to supply constraints. Two approaches – textual analysis and empirical models – can help make the picture clearer. For central banks, whether inflation stems from demand or supply makes a crucial difference. Demand-driven inflation (sometimes called demand-pull inflation) calls for a firm policy response. Meanwhile, supply-driven inflation (also known as cost-push inflation)...

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