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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Good evening, It's always great to be back in America and to be here among friends: friends of Europe, friends of defence. Friends of football. The World Cup is over. And tonight we have the next big event in America: EU Defence Night! It's humbling to speak to you from the same stage as many world leaders: Konrad Adenauer, Henry Kissinger and George H. W. Bush. And Margaret Thatcher, Vaclav Havel. When Bill Clinton spoke here, he spoke here for more than an...

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The European Commission took two decisions finding non-compliance by Google with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering). In this regard, the Commission issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively.   Self-preferencing on Google Search Under the DMA, gatekeepers must not treat their own services more favourably in...

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The ECB Blog | Why have energy prices risen less during the Iran war than after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? This ECB Blog post compares the two episodes and explains the role of market buffers, demand and competition for LNG shipments. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have both led to significant energy shocks and, as a result, rising energy prices. Yet the two shocks differ markedly in terms of both scale and market impact. Most notably, although the disruptions to...

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