Estonia’s annual inflation rises to 3.5% in September

Estonia’s consumer price index rose 0.9% in September from August and 3.5% year on year, ERR reported, citing Statistics Estonia. Compared with September 2025, goods were 3.6% more expensive and services 3.5% more expensive.

Statistics Estonia service manager Lauri Veski said price growth had accelerated again after slowing for several months. Over the year, higher transport and housing costs pushed prices up, while lower prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks held back the increase.

Compared with September last year, petrol prices rose 33.8% and diesel prices 58%, which the article linked to the continuing war in the Middle East. In the housing category, electricity rose 6.1%, piped gas 44.5%, rubbish collection 56.6% and wood fuel 10.6%. Food and non-alcoholic drinks, the largest category in the index, were 1.2% cheaper than a year earlier.

Prices for fuel and food also increased from August. Petrol rose 9.5% and diesel 9.3%. Food prices climbed 0.5%, led by vegetables, up 1.8%, and fruit and nuts, up 1.9%. Milk, dairy products and eggs rose 0.4%.

Clothing and footwear prices increased 5.9% during the month, but remained 1.5% lower than a year earlier. Electricity rose 4% from August and piped gas 22.2%. By contrast, housing rents fell 3.2% and childcare services fell 30%. Veski attributed the decline in childcare costs to a change in Tallinn’s kindergarten fees, which exempted most families in the city from paying the participation fee from September.

Hotel accommodation prices fell 10.1% during the month, while international airfares dropped 13.8%.

Luminor chief economist Lenno Uusküla said September’s inflation had been higher than expected in both Estonia and the euro area. He said global food prices had risen through the year, although dairy products, which are important to Estonia, had become significantly cheaper. With food prices continuing to increase, he said a substantial fall in grocery prices was unlikely, but a normal agricultural harvest meant a poor harvest was not expected to drive prices higher. He added that seasonal differences could explain some of September’s increase and that a rise of the same scale was not expected in October.

Uusküla said prices were expected to continue rising for the rest of the year. He said gas prices on the world market had climbed from 28 euros at the start of the year to 75 euros, and a quick drop was not expected as winter approached. He also said persistently high oil prices, particularly for diesel, were increasing transport companies’ costs.