Consumer prices rose 9.9 percent from the same month last year, according to a second estimate Wednesday by the statistics office of Eurostat in Luxembourg. An interim survey was thus revised down 0.1 points. September’s rate is the highest since the euro was introduced as a book currency in 1999. Consumer prices increased by 9.1 percent in the previous month.
The sharp increase in energy prices, which increased by 40.7 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, was effective in inflation. In addition, the increase in unprocessed food prices accelerated and increased by 12.7 percent compared to the previous year. Prices of non-energy industrial goods and services also rose more rapidly.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food and luxury goods prices, which are particularly sensitive to fluctuations, rose from 4.3 percent to 4.8 percent. The three Baltic states once again had the highest inflation rates in the currency area, at over 20 percent. The annual inflation rate in Estonia was 24.1 percent. The inflation rate in Germany, calculated according to European standards, rose to 10.9 percent. France has the lowest inflation rate in the Eurozone, at 6.2 percent.
The European Central Bank (ECB) targets an inflation rate of 2 percent in the medium term. In fact, due to much higher inflation, the ECB began raising interest rates after a long hesitation. It last raised the key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points to 1.25% in September. This was the largest rate hike since the introduction of the euro.
(SDA)