BRUSSELS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Annual inflation in the eurozone reached 2.2 percent in September, up from 2 percent in August, according to a flash estimate published on Wednesday by Eurostat.
Among inflation's key drivers, services led the pack with a 3.2 percent annual increase, up slightly from 3.1 percent in August, according to statistics.
Annual inflation for food, alcohol and tobacco fell to 3 percent in September from 3.2 percent in August, while non-energy industrial goods were steady at 0.8 percent. Energy prices declined 0.4 percent year on year, compared with a 2 percent drop in August.
Among eurozone members, Estonia led with annual inflation of 5.2 percent, down from 6.2 percent in August, while Cyprus's inflation was flat at 0.0 percent.
Among major economies, Germany's annual inflation rose from 2.1 percent in August to 2.4 percent in September. Inflation in Spain reached 3 percent, up from 2.7 percent in the previous month, while France's inflation rate rose from 0.8 percent in August to 1.1 percent in September.
The eurozone's inflation rate has been hovering around the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2 percent mark for a few months now.
"The pickup in inflation to 2.2 percent in September was mainly due to energy effects, which will fade in the months ahead," said Bert Colijn, chief economist at ING, adding that "a small undershooting of the inflation target actually seems realistic around the turn of the year."
"Uptick in eurozone headline inflation in September to 2.2 percent makes a December rate cut by the ECB more unlikely, even though it is purely driven by energy price base effects," said Daniel Kral, lead economist at Oxford Economics, on the social media platform X.
"A stronger euro and lower global commodity prices should drag headline inflation below 2 percent in the coming months," he added.
On Sept. 11, the ECB kept its key interest rates unchanged since June, confirming that it continues to be "in a good place."
Despite the ECB's rhetoric of standing ready to act to ensure that inflation stabilizes at its medium-term target, there are signs that the easing cycle is nearing its end. ■
