Inflation in Europe accelerated to the fastest in more than 16 years in June, led by a 53 percent surge in the cost of heating oil.

The inflation rate in the euro area rose from 3.7 percent in May, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. That matched an estimate published on June 30. Transport fuels rose 19 percent from a year earlier and, with heating oil, had the biggest upward impact on the inflation rate in June.