Inflation in the eurozone has risen to 1.7% in July, the highest rate in 20 months.

This is an increase from the previous month's 1.4%. The rise has been attributed to more expensive fuel costs for transport, and higher alcohol and tobacco prices.

Some countries - Finland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Romania - raised their rates of VAT in July, which also helped to push prices higher.

"The core inflation rate is slightly higher but with the VAT hikes that there have been in the eurozone, that's not surprising," said Astrid Schilo, Europe economist at HSBC.