Inflation across the 19-country eurozone spiked to a six-month high in December even before the recent jump in oil prices in the wake of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, official figures showed Tuesday.
![Eurozone inflation hits 6-month high before oil price spike](https://media.zenfs.com/en/ap.org/70e4c39d394a7152d4811bf5f9fd2b57)
Statistics agency Eurostat said prices increased across the board during December, helping the annual rate of inflation to rise to 1.3% from the previous month's 1%.
The core inflation rate, which strips out volatile items such as tobacco and energy, held steady at 1.3%.