Annual inflation in Greece accelerated to an estimated 5.1% in September 2026, from 3.7% in August, according to Eurostat’s preliminary figures. Greece stood 1.3 percentage points above the eurozone average of 3.8%, with energy and services recording particularly sharp annual price increases.
The gap widened from August, when Greece’s inflation rate stood 0.5 percentage points above the eurozone’s 3.2%. The September readings indicate that consumer prices in Greece rose considerably faster than across the currency bloc overall. Both figures measure changes compared with the same month a year earlier.
The comparison uses the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, which measures inflation consistently across EU countries. The eurozone figure represents a weighted aggregate—not the median of national inflation rates—with countries’ weights reflecting their shares of household monetary consumption expenditure.
Energy and services drive inflation in Greece
Energy prices in Greece rose 25.4% this year, compared with 15.4% previously. That represents a 10-percentage-point acceleration in annual energy inflation, rather than a 10% monthly increase in prices. Across the eurozone, annual energy inflation reached 18.8%.
The increases come against renewed upward pressure on international oil prices. In its September 18 assessment, the International Energy Agency said fresh disruptions to Middle Eastern exports had pushed benchmark crude and petroleum product prices higher again after an earlier retreat from their April peaks.
Services prices also rose faster in Greece. Annual services inflation reached 6.3% in September, up from 4.5% in August and nearly double the eurozone’s 3.2%, extending price pressures beyond the energy sector.
Middle East conflict and indirect taxes add pressure
The Middle East war has disrupted Gulf energy shipments. At the same time, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have curtailed alternative supply routes. The International Energy Agency reported that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained below pre-war levels, despite signs of recovery. It linked renewed export disruptions to upward price pressures.
Greece’s standard VAT rate is 24%, adding to consumers’ bills for goods and services subject to that rate. However, an unchanged tax rate should not be treated as a new tax increase explaining September’s acceleration. Eurostat publishes separate constant-tax inflation measures specifically to help distinguish the potential impact of changes in indirect taxation.
The broader food, alcohol and tobacco category offered a contrasting picture, falling 0.2% year over year in Greece. Within that category, processed food, alcohol and tobacco prices declined 0.7%, while unprocessed food prices increased 0.7%.
The decline coincided with a supermarket price-reduction agreement involving the government, manufacturers and retail chains, which took effect on September 1.
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