Eurozone Inflation Surges to 2026 High

The Eurozone inflation rate has hit a 2026 high of 3.3% in August, surpassing July's rate of 2.9%. This marks the second consecutive monthly increase and is driven mainly by energy prices, which rose to 14.3% from 10.3% in July.

The acceleration was not seen across all sectors, however, as services inflation eased to 3.0% from 3.3%, while non-energy industrial goods increased to 1.2% from 0.9%. Food, alcohol and tobacco prices remained unchanged at 1.2%.

Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, edged down to 2.4% in August from 2.5% a month earlier. Among the eurozone's largest economies, Spain posted the highest inflation rate at 4.5%, up from 3.9% in July.

Bert Colijn, ING's chief economist for the Netherlands, noted that the rise in headline inflation was driven by higher energy prices, while core inflation remained relatively benign.