Blog | The rise of AI has driven a blistering rally in the tech sector, bringing stock market valuations to levels last seen during the dot-com bubble. Although AI is reshaping the economy, do today’s high valuations bear the risk of an abrupt and painful setback in the euro area?

Valuations on the US stock market, as measured by the CAPE ratio, are currently close to their historical peak.^[1] Euro area equity valuations have also risen, albeit to a lesser extent (Chart 1). Markets on both sides...

Governments have good reasons to use tariffs or sanctions for geopolitical purposes but should consider the trade-offs.

Governments worldwide increasingly are using economic policies, such as export bans, financial sanctions, and trade tariffs, to achieve noneconomic goals. The benefits of these geoeconomic policies can be significant, accomplishing a geopolitical purpose without threatening, or using, military force—and without the high human and economic costs of war. Perhaps the world should ...

• Overall, 92% of companies with physical points of sale accept cash
• Cash acceptance rebounds after decline observed during and after pandemic
• Cash widely valued for privacy and reliability, while acceptance of mobile payments rises sharply

According to the latest survey on the use of cash by companies in the euro area published today by the European Central Bank, cash acceptance has rebounded slightly.

In 2026, 92% of companies selling goods and services in physical locations in the retail trad...

From 12 August 2026, new rules on packaging and packaging waste apply in the EU. This will change the way products are packaged to protect the environment and people’s health. It will also create opportunities for businesses.

Packaging uses large quantities of raw materials and generates waste that ends up in landfills or the sea. Some chemicals used in packaging can also be harmful. The new rules address these issues by setting requirements for the manufacturing and composition of all packaging...

Blog | Retail fuel prices have surged in 2026 following the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, driving up euro area energy inflation. In this blog, we examine the factors that drive fuel price dynamics at the pump.

Rising oil prices amid the conflict in the Middle East have put the public spotlight back on fuel costs and their potential impact on inflation. This blog post explains how changes in crude oil prices feed through to what consumers pay for petrol or diesel at the pump. To do...

Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index declined to 4.2% in June 2026, down from 4.6% in May.

Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 4.2% in June 2026, down from 4.6% in May (Table 1, Figures 1 and 2), following three consecutive monthly increases. Headline inflation declined in 20 OECD countries, rose in 6, and was stable or broadly stable in 12. In June, headline inflation was below or at 2.0% in nine OECD...

On 2 August 2026, new rules on the transparency of AI systems take effect.

AI is advancing quickly, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish AI-generated and manipulated content from human-created and authentic content. This creates new risks of misinformation and manipulation at scale, fraud, impersonation, and consumer deception.

The new transparency obligations will help people recognise when they are interacting with AI or are exposed to AI-generated content, so they can make informed...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Commerce today highlighted an inaugural successful collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to combat duty evasion under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA). For the first time, in August 2025, the Department of Commerce submitted a duty evasion allegation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection under EAPA. On July 30, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determined that antidumping duties are being evaded on imports of carbon and all...

Blog | Sustained rebalancing requires policy action in both surplus and deficit countries

Global current account balances increased further in 2025, driven primarily by China, where the current account surplus recorded the largest widening in at least two and a half decades. This was offset by some narrowing in the United States and the euro area.

As our latest External Sector Report shows, China’s current account surplus increased by about $300 billion last year, the largest widening in absolu...