Pushed by hiking oil and food prices, eurozone inflation has been on the rise in the past months. It peaked at 3.6 percent in March, the highest since the European Central Bank (ECB) started collecting inflation data in 1997 for the countries which began to use the euro in 1999.

    The European Commission Monday raised its forecast for inflation in the eurozone sharply this year to 3.2 percent, more than one percentage point higher than that in 2007.

    "The sharp increase reflected a combination of soaring oil and food prices and the fading of favorable base effects," the Commission said in its spring economic forecast.

    April's inflation figure confirmed the Commission's prediction that the price index for the 15-nation bloc sharing the same currency would peak in the first quarter of this year and then drop.

    For 2009, the Commission forecast said inflation will ease to 2.2 percent in the eurozone.

    Higher inflation has prevented the Frankfurt-based ECB from cutting its benchmark interest rate to stimulate a sluggish economy amid financial turmoil and a marked slowdown in the United States.