The Eurozone’s inflation rate in October fell to 2.9%, as reported by the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat. This was a more significant decrease than anticipated and was mainly due to a substantial reduction in energy prices.
In September, the inflation rate in the group of twenty countries using the common euro currency stood at 4.3%. The preliminary estimate does not include data for other European Union countries that are not members of the Eurozone.
Analysts expected the Eurozone’s inflation rate for October to fall to 3.1%. Instead, prices rose by 0.1% month over month. Food, alcohol, and tobacco were the most substantial contributors to the price increase in October. Services followed. Conversely, significantly lower energy prices contributed to easing inflation.
In October, Slovakia had the highest inflation rate among the twenty Eurozone countries, at 7.8%. However, this figure was lower than the 9.0% recorded in September and the 9.6% in August.
On the other hand, the lowest inflation in the Eurozone in October was in Belgium, with a rate of -1.7%, followed by the Netherlands, where it stood at -1.0%. Italy closed the trio with the lowest inflation, where the inflation rate was 1.9%.
The inflation rate remains above the two percent target set by the European Central Bank (ECB) for price stability. Eurostat will publish complete October data for all EU countries, including the Czech Republic, on November 17.