Rising oil prices plagued the European Union.doc

 PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 4 Rising oil prices plagued the European Union This year, world crude oil prices rose sharply recently reached an unprecedented high of 32 U.S. dollars a barrel. Soaring oil prices not only a negative impact on the EU national economies, but also aroused strong social repercussions. The European Commission has estimated that this year the EU economy will be ‘strong growth’, but the impact of rising oil prices have clearly become a ‘strong growth’ of the negative factors. The European Commission, in its spring economic forecasts, the price of oil is assumed to be 24.5 U.S. dollars per barrel, as the estimated economic growth reference data. It now appears that the pricing and the current situation far, the EU will have to revised economic growth forecasts. According to Eurostat statistics, this year, 1 to 5 months, the EU-15 trade deficit reached 35.9 billion euros, while foreign trade deficit last year was 129 million euros. One major reason for the increase in trade deficit is oil prices, so that the amount of energy imports, an increase of more than 118% over the same period last year. The European Commission’s spring economic forecast also believe that the European Union in 2000 the inflation rate was 1.8%. However, due to higher crude oil prices and the euro exchange rate fell, the EU consumer prices rising, the gradual increase in inflationary pressures. This year in June and July, the EU inflation rate stayed at 2.4%, breaking through the ECB’s 2% ceiling target. Increases in oil prices and the euro, the dual exchange-rate depreciation together with the attack, the European Central Bank on August 31 to guide the euro was forced to raise interest rates to 4.5%, in order to ensure price stability in the euro area. However, economists are concerned that the European Central Bank raising interest rates may affect the euro zone’s economic growth rate. Crude oil prices also make the EU the country’s social pressures, demanding governmen