Eurozone inflation hit another record high in July and could be months away from peaking, putting pressure on the European Central Bank, Reuters reported.

Consumer price growth in the 19 countries that use the euro accelerated to 8.9% in July from 8.6% a month earlier, well above expectations of 8.6% and well above the ECB's target of 2%, according to Eurostat.

Inflation was initially driven by post-pandemic supply bottlenecks, but more recently the aftermath of the war in Ukraine has been the main culprit, driving up energy, metal and food prices.

While high energy prices remain the main driver of inflation, prices for processed food and services have also risen, suggesting inflation is on the rise.

Fearing that price increases are getting out of control, the ECB raised rates by 50 basis points this month.

But inflation is also a dilemma for the bank. Incredibly high food and energy prices are draining savings and ultimately slowing growth, which in the worst case could lead to a recession in the bloc.

Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, stagnated in the second quarter ahead of what could be a difficult third quarter. Meanwhile, the US economy contracted unexpectedly in the second quarter.

Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel price volatility, accelerated to 5.0% from 4.6%, more than double the ECB's target of 2%. Meanwhile, an even narrower figure that excludes alcohol and tobacco rose to 4.0% from 3.7%.