Eurozone Inflation Hits 3.8% Amid Energy Price Surge

European inflation has accelerated to 3.8% in September, exceeding the European Central Bank's 2% target, according to a flash estimate by Eurostat. The main factor driving this increase is high energy prices, which rose from 14.3% in August to 18.8% in September.

Within this category, unprocessed food recorded an annual increase of 4%, up from 2.7% in August, while the rate for processed food, alcohol, and tobacco fell from 0.5% to 0.4%. Excluding energy alone, the inflation rate rises from 2.1% to 2.3%.

At the national level, inflation is accelerating in almost all major eurozone countries. Italy's rate reached 4.1%, up from 3.2% in August and 2.9% in July, which is higher than the eurozone average. In Germany, inflation rose to 3.3% from 2.9% in August, while in France it rose from 2.6% to 3.4%.