Brussels, 31/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - According to a flash estimation published on Monday 31 March by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the eurozone annual inflation rate is expected to be 3.5% in March 2008. The rise in prices had reached a record precedent of 3.3% in February, after 3.2% in January and 3.1% in December 2007. Prices have been pulled upwards in particular by the surge in oil prices, which reached new records above $110 a barrel in March. This new inflation record slightly exceeds the expectations of economists, which were reckoning on a rise in consumer prices of 3.4% in March, according to the consensus established by the financial agency, Thomson Financial. This rise in consumer prices is considerably over the limit tolerated by the European Central Bank (ECB), the medium term aim of which is eurozone inflation close to but below 2%. One has to go back to May 2001 to find a 3.1% level but inflation has never exceeded this limit since the beginning of statistics for the eurozone. (L.C.)