By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - The annual inflation rate in the euro area was 1.8% in September, falling short of market expectations of 1.9%, according to provisional figures released by Eurostat on Tuesday.
The inflation rate decreased from 2.2% in August. Eurostat noted that the services sector experienced the highest price increase in September, with a rise of 4%.
Following services, prices of food, alcohol, and tobacco rose by 2.4%, while non-energy industrial goods saw a 0.4% increase. In contrast, energy prices posted a decline of 6%.
Among individual countries, the highest annual inflation rates were reported in Belgium at 4.5%, the Netherlands at 3.3%, and Estonia at 3.2%. Meanwhile, the lowest inflation rates were recorded in Ireland (0.2%), Lithuania (0.4%), and Slovenia (0.7%).