(BRUSSELS) - Inflation in the 15 countries sharing the euro nudged higher in July to a record 4.1 percent amid surging oil prices, according to a first official EU estimate on Thursday.

With oil trading at records close to 150 dollars a barrel this month, eurozone inflation hit the highest level since the bloc was formed in 1999 after the European Union's Eurostat data agency registered 4.0 percent in June.

Although oil prices have since pulled back, they hit a record 147.50 dollars a barrel earlier this month, pinching consumers purchasing power and squeezing businesses' margins.

The July rate, which was lower than economists' forecasts for 4.2 percent, brings inflation further away from the European Central Bank's comfort zone, which it defines as an annual rate less than but close to 2.0 percent.

Determined to keep a lid on inflation, the ECB lifted its main lending rate earlier this month by a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent, despite a rapidly deteriorating economic outlook.

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