EU: Annual inflation at 1.2% in September

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Union saw inflation of 1.2% this September, the union's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

Eurostat said the 28-member bloc's annual inflation rate dropped from 2.2% in September 2018, while it was 1.4% in August.

The lowest annual rates were seen in Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus (with negative inflation of -0.5%), Portugal (-0.3%), Greece, Spain, and Italy (all 0.2%).

The highest annual rates were seen in Romania (3.5%), Slovakia (3%), and Hungary (2.9%), it said.

Meanwhile, the eurozone's inflation rate was 0.8% in September, down from 2.1% in the same month last year.

Since 2014, the lowest annual inflation rate in the EU was posted in January 2015 at minus 0.5% -- when prices were in fact dropping -- and the highest was seen in October 2018, at 2.3%.