European inflation accelerated to the fastest in 2 1/2 years in April, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to raise borrowing costs further.

Consumer-price growth in the 17-nation euro region quickened to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent in March, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That's in line with an initial estimate on April 29 and the fastest since October 2008. Euro-area exports rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in March from February, a separate report showed.

The euro-region economy expanded at a faster pace than economists forecast in the first quarter, giving companies room to pass on surging commodity costs. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on May 6 it's important to remain "extremely alert" on price developments after policy makers last month raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, the first increase in almost three years.