Euro-Area Inflation Hits 3.2% as Energy Costs Skyrocket

Inflation in the euro area accelerated to 3.2% in August, according to final data published by Eurostat on September 17th. This rate is higher than July's 2.9% and marks a significant increase from last year's rate of 2.0%. The harmonized inflation rate for the EU also reached 3.2%.

In Poland, the inflation rate rose to 3.5%, exceeding both the euro-area and EU averages. This was driven largely by energy prices, which increased by 14.3% year-over-year compared to July's 10.3%. Energy contributed significantly to headline inflation, accounting for 1.29 percentage points.

Services made up the largest contribution to inflation, with a 3.0% year-over-year increase. However, excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, inflation eased to 2.4% from 2.5% in July.