Eurozone inflation edged higher in September, with headline CPI finalized at 2.2% yoy, up from 2.0% in August. The core measure, which excludes energy, food, alcohol & tobacco, also firmed to 2.4% yoy from 2.3%.
The main driver of the increase came from services, which contributed +1.49 percentage points to the annual rate, followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco (+0.58 pp), and non-energy industrial goods (+0.20 pp). Energy continued to be a drag, subtracting -0.03 pp.
Across the broader European Union, annual inflation was finalized at 2.6% yoy, up from 2.4% in August, with wide divergence among member states. Cyprus (0.0%), France (1.1%), and Italy and Greece (1.8%) recorded the lowest rates, while Romania (8.6%), Estonia (5.3%), and Croatia and Slovakia (4.6%) posted the highest. Inflation fell in 8 countries, was stable in 4, and rose in 15.
