Berlin - European inflation jumped to a record 4 per cent in June, the European Statistics Office said Wednesday, amid growing concerns about the threat posed to the global economy by surging consumer prices.

The data confirms the preliminary estimate for annual inflation in the 15-member eurozone, which the statistics office Eurostat released at the end of last month.

Since then, the European Central Bank has delivered its first rate hike in more than a year by raising borrowings costs by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent in a bid to ward off renewed inflationary pressures.

At 4 per cent, eurozone inflation stands at double the ECB's target of "close to, but just below 2 per cent" with soaring food and energy costs having sparked a global pickup in inflation.

Indeed, the release of the latest inflation figures also comes against the backdrop of a deepening sense of gloom about the outlook for the world economy.

A year earlier inflation in the currency bloc stood at 1.9 per cent with annual inflation having crept up from 3.7 per cent in May.

Germany had one of the lowest inflation rates in Europe in June. However, at 3.4 per cent inflation in Europe's biggest economy hit its fastest pace in 12 years.

Annual inflation in the 27-member European Union came in at 4.2 per cent in June, also boosted by soaring inflation in the EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe.

To be sure, Latvia and Bulgaria, which clocked up annual June inflation rates of 17.5 per cent and 14.7 per cent respectively, recorded the highest consumer prices in the EU.

Compared with May 2008, annual inflation rose in 21 of the EU 27 member states, Eurostat said. (dpa)