Fuel cheaper

Inflation at 1.8 percent in September

A petrol pump at a filling station

(Bild: EXPA/ Stefanie Oberhauser)

The inflation rate for September is expected to be 1.8 percent. This was announced by Statistics Austria on Tuesday morning. This is the lowest rate since February 2021.

The fall in prices is mainly due to cheaper fuel. Price increases for services, on the other hand, are the main driver of inflation. Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), who will become EU Commissioner for Migration, pointed out that Austria is within the EU's target value of 1.8 percent. This is the first time this has been the case since April 2021, when inflation was 1.2 percent.

Martin Kocher (ÖVP), still Minister of Economic Affairs, spoke on Tuesday of a "sustained and sustainable decline in inflation over the last twelve months". The future governor of the Austrian National Bank said that the federal government was on the right track.

Here you can see how inflation in Austria has developed since 2023.

The fall wage round starts in October, with annual inflation from September 2023 to September 2024 playing an important role. This and productivity growth then form the basis for bargaining over collective agreements for the coming year.

Low values in Ireland and Lithuania
Inflation should generally fall in the eurozone in September. The lowest annual rates are estimated for Ireland (0.2 percent), Lithuania (0.4 percent) and Slovenia (0.7 percent). By contrast, the highest rates are in Belgium (4.5 percent), the Netherlands (3.3 percent) and Estonia (3.2 percent). 

Inflation is mainly attributable to services, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco. Energy prices are falling again.