Image: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV (APA/AFP/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV)
According to the first Eurostat estimates published on Friday, consumer prices rose by 4.3 percent compared to the same month last year. In August it was 5.2 percent. In Austria, the Eurostat rate is still above average at 5.8 percent, but lower than in August at 7.5 percent.
According to Statistics Austria’s flash estimate published on Friday, annual inflation (CPI) in Austria is likely to fall to 6.1 percent in September, after 7.4 percent in August. This is the lowest inflation since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022. The values published by Eurostat tend to be slightly lower than those of Statistics Austria.
The core rate for the euro zone, which excludes volatile energy and food prices as well as alcohol and tobacco, fell to 4.5 percent in September after an August value of 5.3 percent. This value is considered an important indicator of inflation trends.
Energy prices also fell
Energy prices also continued to fall, falling by 4.7 percent compared to 3.3 percent in August. Inflation for food, alcohol and tobacco continued to fall slightly to 8.8 percent, after 9.7 percent in August. Prices for non-energy industrial goods increased by 4.2 percent. In August the increase was 4.7 percent. Services rose in price by 4.7 percent, after 5.5 percent in July.
This means that inflation is still well above the European Central Bank (ECB) target of 2.0 percent. The ECB has now raised interest rates ten times in a row in the fight against inflation – most recently by a quarter of a percentage point in mid-September. The deposit rate that is relevant on the financial market is now 4.00 percent. According to ECB President Christine Lagarde, the central bank wants to keep interest rates high for as long as necessary to curb inflation. According to economists, the monetary authorities have now reached the interest rate peak for now.
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