Eurozone inflation increased by six tenths in September with the cost of energy products soaring. Thus, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stands at 3.8%, according to preliminary figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU).
The figure is above expectations and represents the fastest increase since March, the first month of the war in the Middle East.
By components, energy shows the highest annual rate in the ninth month of the year, with prices rising by 18.8% compared to 14.3% in August. In addition, services increased their costs by 3.2%, two tenths more, non-energy industrial goods by 1.1%, one tenth less, and food, alcohol, and tobacco by 1.4%, three tenths above the previous month.
By country, the lowest annual rates were recorded in Malta (2.4%), Finland (2.6%), and Latvia (2.9%), while, conversely, the highest annual rates occurred in Lithuania (6.1%), Bulgaria (5.6%), and Luxembourg and Cyprus (both 5.2%).
As for the core inflation rate, that is, the one that excludes the volatile prices of energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, it increased by one tenth to 2.5%, in line with expectations.
In its September meeting, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, to 2.5%, and updated its macroeconomic projections. In these, its baseline scenario projects overall inflation averaging 3% in 2026, 2.5% in 2027, and 2.1% in 2028. Compared to previous forecasts, this year's remains unchanged, but the forecasts for the next two years are revised upwards by two and one tenths, respectively.
