The euro zone's inflation rate remained unchanged at 2.1 per cent in September to stay just above the ECB's tolerance threshold of 2 per cent, the European Union's statistics office said today.
National inflation rates continue to be wide apart in the euro zone.
Four countries had inflation rates of 3 per cent or above in September: Ireland with 3.8 per cent, Portugal with 3.2 per cent, and Italy and Spain with 3 per cent.
Germany continued to post the lowest inflation rate in the euro zone with 1.1 per cent, closely followed by Finland with 1.2 per cent and Austria with 1.3 per cent.
Eurostat said the 0.3 per cent monthly rise in September inflation was significantly affected by a 1.2 per cent rise in the cost of non-energy industrial goods following the end of summer sales. Food prices, which rose 0.6 per cent, also had some upward impact.
Compared with September 2002, a 3.5 per cent rise in food prices had the biggest impact on inflation, followed by a 2.5 per cent rise in services, Eurostat said.