Euro zone inflation rose faster than expected this month, moving decisively past the European Central Bank's 2 percent target with much of this year's surge still to come.

Data from Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency showed on Friday, inflation in the 19 countries sharing the euro accelerated to 2.2 percent in July, from 1.9 percent a month ago as energy prices continued to surge, Analysts say, inflation is expected to accelerate further in the coming months and will likely peak over 2.5 percent towards the end of the year, with risks skewed towards higher figures.