Eurozone inflation trends and energy impacts in September
The annual inflation rate across the euro area rose to 9.9 percent in September, up from August by eight tenths of a percentage point but still just below the 10 percent mark seen a few weeks earlier. This movement reflects a higher cost of money as observed by the European Central Bank. Prices have remained at elevated levels, with Germany tracking slightly above the euro area average. A year earlier the euro area CPI was 3.4 percent higher than the previous year. Eurostat data show the EUwide inflation rate at 10.9 percent, eight tenths higher than the prior month.
Spain registered a harmonized CPI of 9 percent, a figure used to compare inflation across countries. The National Institute of Statistics places Spain at 8.9 percent for the same measure. Community inflation ranged widely, with France among the lower levels tied to social tensions sparked by price increases. Malta posted 7.4 percent and Finland 8.4 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, Estonia saw inflation at 24.1 percent, followed by Lithuania at 22.5 percent and Latvia at 22.0 percent. Germany, a key economic driver for the region, stood at 10.9 percent, up from 8.8 percent in August.
During September the largest contributor to price growth came from energy, adding 4.19 percentage points to the overall inflation rate. Food, beverages, alcohol, and tobacco contributed 1.80 points, rising a total of 2.47 points for the period.