BRUSSELS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The annual inflation rate in the 17-member eurozone dropped for the second consecutive month in September, Eurostat estimated Monday.
The official statistics office for the European Commission said the inflation rate for the 17-member currency region stood at 1.6 percent in July, then slid to 1.3 percent in August. In a flash estimate, which could be revised later, Eurostat said the inflation rate slowed further, to 1.1 percent in September.
The annual inflation rate for the currency region is down from 2.6 percent in September 2012.
Eurostat said the sharpest gains in the month were in food, alcohol and tobacco, where prices rose 2.6 percent at an annual rate. The price of services and non-energy industrial products rose 1.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Energy prices, at the same time, remained negative. At minus 3 percent in August, energy prices were down 0.9 percent at an annual rate in September.
Core prices, which excludes food and energy items, were at an annual rate of 1 percent in September.
