Euro area inflation climbs to 3.3% in August on energy prices

Annual inflation in the euro area rose to 3.3% in August 2026, from 2.9% in July, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat on 1 September.

By component

Eurostat's breakdown of the annual rates:

• Energy: 14.3%, up from 10.3% in July
• Services: 3.0%, down from 3.3%
• Non-energy industrial goods: 1.2%, up from 0.9%
• Food, alcohol and tobacco: 1.2%, unchanged

Energy did the heavy lifting

With services inflation easing and food inflation stable, almost all of the rise in the headline rate came from energy. That is consistent with the jump in oil and gas prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

What a flash estimate is

Eurostat publishes a flash estimate at the end of each month or the start of the next, based on early data from member states. The full release with detail for each country follows later in the month. Revisions between the flash and final figures are usually small, which is why markets treat the flash as the main event.

Why it mattered for the ECB

The figure landed nine days before the European Central Bank's September meeting, where the ECB raised its key rates by a quarter point, citing inflationary pressure from the Middle East conflict. For EUR/USD traders, the next flash estimate, due at the start of October, will show whether energy prices are still rising.