Edward Marchesi Eurostat reported that annual inflation in the Eurozone stood at 3,8% in September 2026 , up from 3,2% in August and 2,2% in the same month of the previous year. This final announcement confirms the preliminary estimate released on October 2. Across the European Union as a whole , the index reached the same value, while at the national level, Italy stood at 4,2%, up from 3,2% in August.
Overall trend: from August to September
The jump from 3,2% in August to 3,8% in September indicates a continuing acceleration in inflation, with a monthly increase of 0,6% compared to 0,4% the previous month. This growth was driven primarily by four components of the price basket: energy (+1,71 percentage points), services (+1,52 points), non-energy industrial goods (+0,29 points), and food, alcohol, and tobacco (+0,25 points).
The components that drove inflation
The largest contribution came from energy , which added 1,71 percentage points to the overall rate. Services followed with 1,52 points, indicating pressure on transportation, accommodation, and professional costs. Non-energy industrial goods provided a more modest but still significant boost, while food , alcohol, and tobacco had a marginal impact.
Geographic distribution: the most affected and the most resilient countries
The national picture shows marked disparities. Sweden records the lowest rate, with annual inflation of 1,0% . Hungary and Denmark are on a par with each other , both at 2,1% . Conversely, Romania tops the list with a rate of 6,5% , followed by Lithuania (6,1%) and Bulgaria (5,6%). Italy, at 4,2 % , surpassed August's figure but remains below the highest rates in Eastern Europe.
Compared to 2019, annual inflation decreased in only one Member State, remained stable in three, and increased in twenty-three countries, highlighting a broad-based trend towards price increases.
Core and harmonized inflation: the detailed numbers
Core inflation , which excludes the most volatile components such as fresh food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco, remained at 2,5% year-on-year, slightly above August's 2,4%, with a monthly increase of 0,2%. Meanwhile, euro area harmonized inflation reached 2,2% , in line with the preliminary estimate, and also recorded a monthly increase of 0,2%.
These data, combined with the overall monthly increase, suggest that the pressing costs of energy and services continue to exert strong inflationary pressure on the euro area as a whole, making it more difficult to achieve the monetary stability targets set by the ECB.