August 2026 EU monthly news

Erste Bank Research Team Erste Bank

Europeans could soon be looking forward to a digital euro. MEPs have given their consent to negotiations with Member States. This is a significant step forward in a debate that has been ongoing since 2021.

Selected provisions of the Artificial Intelligence Act came into force in the EU on 2 August, which introduce a requirement to transparently label content generated or edited with AI.

The EU annual inflation was 2.9% in June 2026, down from 3.3% in May. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3%. The lowest annual rates were registered in Sweden (1.0%) and Czechia (1.1%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (9.2%) and Lithuania (5.4%).

In June 2026, the prices of diesel decrease by 6.4% and petrol by 4.2% compared with May 2026. In May 2026, diesel had dropped by 5.8%, while petrol had registered a slight increase of 0.8% relative to April 2026.

On 1 January 2026, the EU population was estimated at 452.0 million inhabitants, 0.706 million more than the previous year. This was the fifth consecutive year of population growth in the EU, following a decline in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Erste Bank Research Team

Erste Bank

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GBP/USD treads water around 1.3400 as Hormuz risks lift USD

GBP/USD trades with caution around 1.3400 in European trading on Monday, away from an over three-week high, or levels just above the 1.3500 psychological mark touched on Friday. The pair faces headwinds from a modest US Dollar rebound as investors rush to safety amid renewed jitters on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and US-Iran talks.

EUR/USD consolidates near 1.1550 amid Mideast tensions

EUR/USD keeps its range near 1.1550 in the European session on Monday, holding the retreat from fresh highs since June 17, touched in reaction to the disappointing US jobs data on Friday. Renewed Middle East tensions lend support to the safe-haven US Dollar, capping the pair's upside attempts amid improved Eurozone sentiment data.

Gold holds gains near $4,350; remains below June 17 high

Gold reverses a modest intraday dip, and climbs to the top boundary of its daily range, closer to the $4,350 level in the European session. The commodity, however, remains below its highest level since June 17, touched on Friday, following the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls report.

Pi Network: Mild bearish bias caps PI corrective rebound

Pi Network extends losses Monday after a bearish close the previous day, as price remains capped below the $0.1000 psychological threshold. Speculative demand for PI is low, with Open Interest holding above $9 million as broader market sentiment improves. The technical outlook for PI indicates a mild bearish bias as the $0.0961 resistance level remains intact.

US Payrolls miss – RBA on deck tomorrow

It would be remiss of me not to kick off this morning’s report with a rundown of last Friday’s US jobs report, which was a belter. Headline payrolls fell by 23,000, versus expectations of an 80,000 gain. The BLS noted that May was revised down by 66,000 (from 129,000) and June by 37,000 (from 57,000), resulting in combined May-June revisions of 103,000 lower than previous reports.

9-3: Is the Federal Reserve’s vote tally Warsh's new forward guidance?

The rate did not move. Neither did the statement, and that’s the more interesting fact. Set the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement beside the one issued on June 17, and the two documents are identical apart from a single verb and a paragraph at the bottom naming three dissenters.