Annual inflation slowed sharply in France and Spain in September, official data showed today, fuelling speculation over whether the European Central Bank will cut rates again next month.
Consumer prices rose by 1.2% in France in September, down from 1.8% in August, as energy prices dropped, according to the INSEE statistics institute.
In Spain, inflation cooled to 1.5% last month after reaching 2.3% in August as fuel and food prices eased, according to the country's National Institute of Statistics.
The gauge used by the ECB to make rate decisions, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, was also well below the European central bank's 2% target in both countries - 1.5% in France and 1.7% in Spain.
September figures for the whole euro zone will be released next week.
Inflation in the 20-nation euro zone slowed to 2.2% in August, the lowest level in more than three years.
"September's inflation data from France and Spain all but confirm that the headline rate in the eurozone as a whole - released next week - will show a sharp decline to below the two-percent target," said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at research group Capital Economics.
The ECB and other central banks hiked interest rates in an effort to tame inflation, which jumped in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and soared further after Russia invaded Ukraine.
But major central banks have started to lower borrowing costs this year, as inflation is cooling.
The ECB will make its next rate decision in October.
