What happened
Estonia's consumer price index rose by 3.5% in September compared to the same month last year. The increase was driven by higher fuel and housing costs. The price of gasoline increased by 33.8% and diesel by 58% over the same period.
However, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell by 1.2% over the same period, which helped to slow down the overall rise in prices. The cost of goods was 3.6% higher and services 3.5% higher than a year earlier.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.9% between August and September. The rise in fuel prices was attributed to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, while housing costs were influenced by increases in electricity, natural gas, and refuse collection prices.
The manager of the Consumer Price Statistics Service at Statistics Estonia noted that the rate of price increases had slowed down in recent months but picked up again in September. The fall in food prices limited the overall rise in the consumer price index.
