Romania’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 6.6% in September 2026, up from 6.2% in August and above market expectations of 6.45%. The pickup was mainly driven by faster price increases for food products (3.0% vs. 2.6% previously) and non-food goods (7.1% vs. 6.4%). Within food, notable rises were recorded for bread and bakery products (4.8%), milk and dairy products (4.6%), and meat and meat products (4.1%). Fuel continued to be a major source of price pressure, with petrol and diesel prices jumping by 28.4% and 37.6%, respectively. By contrast, services inflation edged down slightly to 11.1% from 11.3% in August. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.77% in August, up from a 0.22% rise in the previous month. Over the same period, the HICP-based annual inflation rate climbed to 6.5%, compared with 6.3% in August.