Eurozone annual inflation down in September

BRUSSELS, Oct.15 (Xinhua) -- Annual inflation in the 15-nation eurozone dropped for the second month in September, official data released here Wednesday showed.

Annual inflation was down to 3.6 percent in September from August's 3.8 percent, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, or Eurostat, said. The decline conformed with the office's previous forecast.

But the rate is still higher than the European Central Bank's comfort zone of lower than 2 percent. A year earlier, the rate was2.1 percent.

Monthly inflation in the zone was 0.2 percent in September, said the office.

As oil prices went down, annual inflation in the eurozone has steadily fallen from a record high of 4 percent in July.

The annual inflation in the 27-nation European Union (EU) fell by 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 percent compared with the figure in August. The rate was 2.2 percent a year earlier.

Monthly inflation in the EU stood at 0.3 percent in September.