Data for September 2026
Eurozone inflation today
Today in context
| Country | Latest | Previous month |
|---|---|---|
| Euro area | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| Germany | 3.3% | 2.9% |
| Spain | 5.0% | 4.6% |
| France | 3.4% | 2.6% |
| Italy | 4.2% | 3.2% |
| Netherlands | 3.0% | 2.8% |
History since 1997
Monthly data. The dashed line marks the ECB's 2% target.
What is the HICP?
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices measures how the prices of a basket of goods and services change, using the same method in every EU country so that figures can be compared. The headline rate is the change over the last twelve months. The ECB's target refers to this index for the euro area as a whole.
Headline and core
Energy and food prices move a lot and quickly. Core inflation removes them to show the more persistent part of price rises, which is why central banks watch it closely. When both are high, price rises have spread beyond energy.
What it means for an investor
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of savings: with 3% inflation, money that earns nothing loses about 3% of its real value in a year. Comparing returns with inflation, not just with zero, gives a truer picture. This page describes the data; it does not anticipate the ECB's decisions.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the ECB's inflation target?
2% over the medium term, measured with the euro area HICP. Since 2021 the target is symmetric: deviations above and below are considered equally undesirable.
When is euro area inflation published?
Eurostat publishes a flash estimate at the end of each month or the first days of the next, and the final figure about two weeks later.
Why is my country's CPI different from the HICP?
National indices such as Spain's IPC or Germany's VPI use their own baskets and weights. The HICP harmonises the method across countries, so figures can differ by a few tenths.
What was the highest inflation in the euro area?
In this series the peak was 10.6% in October 2022, driven by energy prices. The low was −0.7% in July 2009.
Source: Eurostat, HICP — monthly data, annual rate of change (prc_hicp_minr).