The sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia continue to hit their economies. Not only in the U.S., but also in a number of European countries, inflation has reached record levels, which causes dissatisfaction among the population, notes The Wall Street Journal. This is evidenced by the statistics on inflation in annual terms for March. In the United States, it rose 8.5 percent, according to the Labor Department, marking a new peak in the past 40 years. The EU's leading economy, Germany, hit an all-time record as inflation accelerated to 7.3%, the highest in recorded history, according to Destatis. In the UK, it reached 7%, the highest in 30 years. In Spain, a record price increase over the past 37 years was set at 9.8%, said the country's National Statistics Institute. Britain's CEBR research center said Monday that living standards in Britain could fall to their lowest level since the 1950s amid soaring energy costs.