17/10/24 (Agence Europe) – Annual inflation in the euro area stood at 1.7% in September, compared with 2.2% in August, according to figures published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Thursday 17 October. European Union annual inflation was 2.1%. The lowest rates were observed in Ireland (0.0%), Lithuania (0.4%), Slovenia and Italy (both 0.7%е), while the highest were recorded in Romania (4.8%), Belgium (4.3%) and Poland (4.2%). Prices rose by 1.4% in France, 1.7% in Spain and 1.8% in Germany. In September, the biggest contributions to the euro area’s annual inflation rate came from services (+1.76 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.47 pp), industrial goods excluding energy (+0.12 pp) and energy (-0.60 pp). (MB)