The Rhine river — a critical inland shipping channel — is facing record low water levels, raising shipping costs and weighing on economic growth, the note said. “The lack of rainfall and the high temperatures recorded since the beginning of summer have effectively dried up the river,” NBF said. The lack of water in the Rhine is, in turn, disrupting shipping activity. “At best, these developments have forced shipping companies to limit the weight of their barges’ cargo in order to reduce their draft,” NBF noted. “These disruptions will undoubtedly reduce economic growth and put upward pressure on prices in the eurozone, but the extent to which this will be the case depends on future weather conditions,” NBF said.