Inflation in the U.S. hit a 40-year high in May when consumer prices rose 8.6% in the 12 months ending in May—but the country is not the only one to see rising costs: A host of European nations, as well as Israel and South Korea, have also witnessed huge surges in inflation since the start of the pandemic.

There is a roughly one in three chance of a recession in the bloc within 12 months, economists in a Reuters poll published earlier on Thursday predicted. They also said inflation – which hit a record high of high of 8.1% last month – was yet to peak.

High prices in the euro zone meant demand for manufactured goods fell in June at the fastest rate since May 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold, with S&P Global’s headline factory Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to a near two-year low of 52.0 from 54.6.

South Korea’s inflation hit a 13-year high in April, rising 4.8% from a year before, and Korea’s central bank said this week inflation this year would exceed a 4.5% annual forecast the bank estimated last month, citing the war in Ukraine, rising commodity prices, supply chain issues and loosening of Covid restrictions (driving up consumer demand) as factors.

A Reuters poll had predicted a more modest drop to 53.9, and the index nudged closer to the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

“June’s euro zone PMI surveys showed a further slowdown in the services sector, while output in the manufacturing sector now seems to be falling outright,” said Jack Allen-Reynolds at Capital Economics.

Economists say Russia’s war in Ukraine amplified inflation by further pushing up the cost of energy and prices of fertilizer, grains and cooking oils as farmers struggle to grow and export crops in one of the world’s key agricultural regions.

As prices rise, inflation threatens to exacerbate inequalities and widen the gap between billions of people struggling to cover their costs and those who are able to keep spending.

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