Annual inflation across the euro area rose by nine-tenths of a percentage point in September, driven mainly by higher energy costs. Eurostat’s preliminary data, published this week, indicate a new record for the euro zone as a whole.
The surge is largely tied to energy prices, which accelerated after a period of moderation. After peaking at 42% in June, energy inflation eased somewhat to 40.8% in July and August but then climbed again, contributing significantly to the month-to-month increase in overall prices.
In addition to energy, prices for food, alcohol and tobacco continued to rise, and non-energy industrial goods and services inflation both moved higher. Food, alcohol and tobacco advanced to 11.8% from 10.6% in August, while non-energy industrial goods and services inflation each rose by about half a percentage point to 5.6% and 4.3% respectively. The trend reflects broad price pressures that extend beyond energy, impacting households and consumer budgets across the bloc.
Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile components of energy and fresh food, increased by 0.5 percentage points compared with August, standing at 4.8% year over year. This measure gauges underlying price momentum in the economy and points to persistent inflationary forces even after energy’s volatility is stripped away.
Within the nineteen euro-area member states, inflation varied notably. The Baltic countries posted the highest rates, with Estonia at 24.2%, Lithuania at 22.5%, and Latvia at 22.4%. The Netherlands followed with a rate of 17.1%, signaling strong price growth in these economies relative to the rest of the euro area.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the lowest inflation rates were recorded in France at 6.2%, Malta at 7.3%, and Finland at 8.4%, illustrating notable dispersion in price dynamics across member states.
In Spain, preliminary Eurostat figures show a reduction of 1.2 percentage points in the annual inflation rate, bringing the rate to 9.3% for September. The data indicate a two-month decline trend, with September marking another step down as the bloc continues to adjust to evolving energy and consumer price conditions. Final Eurostat figures are expected to be published in October, which will provide additional confirmation of the trajectory and help inform policy discussions across the euro area.