The broader EU's annual inflation rose to 2.6% in September, up from 2.4% in August. Concurrently, the euro area's annual rate increased to 2.2% from 2.0% in August. A year earlier, the rates for the EU and euro area stood at 2.1% and 1.7%, respectively.

Romania was followed by Estonia (5.3%), Croatia, and Slovakia (both 4.6%) as the Member States with the highest inflation. In stark contrast, the lowest rates were registered in Cyprus (0.0%), France (1.1%), and Italy and Greece (both 1.8%).

Overall, inflation rose in fifteen member states compared with August 2025, remained stable in four, and fell in eight.

Within the euro area, the highest contribution to the annual inflation rate came from services (+1.49 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.58 pp), and non-energy industrial goods (+0.20 pp). Energy had a minor offsetting effect, contributing -0.03 pp.