Rising oil and gas prices are feeding through to inflation, household consumption and business costs across Europe as tensions in the Middle East heighten risks to energy supplies.

BELGRADE, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Rising oil and gas prices are feeding through to inflation, household consumption and business costs across Europe as tensions in the Middle East heighten risks to energy supplies, complicating the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy outlook and posing fresh challenges to the region's economic recovery.

International oil prices climbed to six-week highs on Thursday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over possible disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude briefly rose above 97 U.S. dollars a barrel before giving up some of its gains, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed to nearly 93 dollars a barrel.

Oil prices eased on Friday, with Brent fluctuating around 95 dollars a barrel and WTI around 92 dollars. Markets remain concerned that further disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could deliver a more severe shock to global oil supplies.

Europe's gas market is also under mounting pressure. EU gas storage facilities are about 65.6 percent full, the lowest level for this time of year since records began around 15 years ago. European gas prices have risen by more than 75 percent over the past two months, reaching their highest level in more than three years this week, the Financial Times reported.

Higher gas prices have slowed storage injections during the summer as Europe heads toward the winter period of peak energy demand, adding to uncertainty over both supply and prices.

The impact of higher energy costs is already visible in Europe's latest inflation data. Preliminary figures released by Eurostat on Tuesday showed that annual inflation in the eurozone was expected to rise to 3.3 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July.

Energy prices rose 14.3 percent year on year, accelerating from a 10.3-percent increase in July and recording the fastest growth among the main inflation components.

ECB economist Kristina Barauskaite Griskeviciene said recently that rising energy prices had become an important driver of the renewed increase in eurozone inflation, with the latest energy shock closely linked to the continuing conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The pressure is increasingly being felt by households and businesses. Alain Durre, chief European economist at Natixis, said increases in diesel, gasoline and food prices would directly affect consumers. If such pressures persist, short-term inflation expectations could rise again, potentially adding to wage pressures. For businesses, higher energy prices are driving up production and transportation costs, with energy-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals particularly exposed.

The renewed inflation pressure is complicating the ECB's policy outlook. Inflation above 3 percent strengthens the case for policymakers to guard against persistent price pressures, while further interest rate hikes could raise borrowing costs for households and businesses and weigh on consumption and investment.

A Reuters poll released on Thursday showed that economists widely expected the ECB to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in September, while potentially pausing further increases thereafter.

Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Research, said the ECB faced a difficult balancing act between containing inflation and avoiding a recession in the event of an energy supply shock.