Euro area's annual inflation hits 9.1% in August amid energy crisis

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Amid a war-driven energy crisis, the euro area annual inflation rate hit 9.1% in August, up from 8.9% in July, official data showed on Friday.

A year earlier, the rate was 3%.

In August, the biggest contributor to the annual euro area inflation rate was energy, followed by food, alcohol & tobacco, and services and non-energy industrial goods, the EU's statistical office Eurostat said.

Excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, the core inflation increased to a record high of 4.3% from 4% in July.

The lowest annual rates were seen in France (6.6%), Malta (7.0%) and Finland (7.9%), while the highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (25.2%), Latvia (21.4%) and Lithuania (21.1%).

Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 0.6%, slightly higher than a preliminary reading of 0.5%.