Eurozone Inflation Rises to Four Percent as Energy Costs Climb
The increase was largely driven by rising energy prices, which recorded an annual inflation rate of 20.8%, up from 18.9% a month earlier. Energy was the fastest-growing component among the main categories monitored.
Services prices also continued to rise, with inflation in the sector reaching 3.3% year-on-year in October, slightly higher than the 3.2% recorded in September.
Food, alcohol and tobacco prices increased by 1.6% annually, compared with 1.3% in the previous month. Within this category, unprocessed food prices registered a more pronounced rise of 4.6%.
Meanwhile, non-energy industrial goods inflation edged up to 1.2% from 1.1% in September, indicating a modest acceleration in price growth for manufactured products.
Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile categories of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, remained unchanged at 2.5% in October, matching the previous month's reading.
On a monthly basis, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased by 0.4% across the euro area.
A breakdown by member state showed that Lithuania recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 6.1%, followed by Bulgaria at 6%. Greece and Italy both registered rates of 5.6%.
At the other end of the scale, Malta posted the lowest annual inflation rate at 2.3%. Germany followed at 2.8%, while Slovakia recorded 2.9%.
The preliminary figures indicate that energy costs remain the main driver of the eurozone's latest inflation increase, while core price growth remained stable compared with September.
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