---
title: "German inflation rose to 3.3% as energy prices accelerated"
url: "https://etf.net/news/german-inflation-rose-to-3-3-as-energy-prices-accelerated-2026-09-30"
published_at: "2026-09-30T14:15:03.346Z"
updated_at: "2026-09-30T14:15:03.346Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# German inflation rose to 3.3% as energy prices accelerated

German inflation rose to 3.3% in September from 2.9% in August, the Federal Statistical Office said on Wednesday, September 30, while the core rate held at 2.4% and energy prices were 14.9% higher than a year earlier.

By ETF.net Research. Published Sep 30, 2026.

Prices in Germany were **3.3%** higher in September than a year earlier, an early estimate the Federal Statistical Office published on Wednesday, up from 2.9% in August. The increase came from energy: household energy and motor fuels were 14.9% higher than a year earlier, after 10.5% in August. The core rate, excluding food and energy, held at **2.4%** for a third straight month, and services inflation eased to 2.7% from 2.8%.

The harmonized index, the one the European Central Bank uses to compare countries, also came in at 3.3%, above the 3.2% economists had expected.

In June, energy prices were 3.4% higher than a year earlier. By August the rise was 10.5%. The office called that the biggest increase in energy prices in over three years, and said the war in Iran was the main cause, particularly in motor fuel.

France, Italy and Spain have already reported September harmonized inflation of 3.4%, 4.1% and 5.0%. Germany's rate is the lowest of the four. Before the German figure, Mariana Monteiro of J.P. Morgan said energy inflation had surprised on the upside in every country that had reported, and that the surprise in food was more modest.

Food prices in Germany were 0.4% higher than a year earlier, up from 0.1% in August. On Monday, before Wednesday's figures, ECB President Christine Lagarde told a European Parliament committee she saw no evidence yet of energy prices feeding into higher wages, the second-round effect that would carry the shock into pay.

"While the shock is too large to look through, we view a measured response as appropriate to keep inflation in check," she said.

Rory Fennessy, senior European economist at Oxford Economics, is looking at the same shock from the other side.

"With very few signs of a resolution of tensions in the Middle East on the horizon and winter approaching, a correction in energy prices is unlikely any time soon," he said.

The ECB decides on rates on Thursday, October 29, after Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, publishes an early euro-area estimate on Friday, October 2. Economists had expected that estimate at 3.6%, up from 3.2% in August. Although core inflation has not moved up notably this year, Fennessy warned, the renewed spike in energy prices means it could rise into early 2027.

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