The price level in euro-paying countries fell by 0.3 percent year on year in September. This is a tenth of a percentage point of deeper deflation than in August. However, month-on-month, prices of goods and services in the euro area rose by a tenth of a percent.
The highest inflation rate measured by the year-on-year increase in the harmonized index of consumer prices was recorded in Slovakia in September, at 1.4 percent. The price level increased by at least one percent in Austria (1.3) and the Netherlands (1.0). By contrast, the largest price drop in the euro area was recorded in Greece, where prices fell by 2.3 percent.
At the same time, Greek deflation is the deepest among all the Member States of the European Union. Within the EU27, prices grew the fastest in Poland (3.8 percent), Hungary (3.4) and the Czech Republic (3.3). The European Union average was 0.3 percent in September.
However, month-on-month, prices in the euro area rose by 0.1 percent in September, while they stagnated on average throughout the European Union. Greece recorded the highest month-on-month inflation, at 1.5 percent. The biggest price drop, on the other hand, is Malta, where deflation reached 1.3 percent. The European Central Bank‘s goal is to keep the annual inflation rate close to two percent. The current development of the price level is thus well below the target.
