Romania’s annual inflation rises to 6.6% in September as fuel prices surge

Romania's annual inflation rate in September 2026, compared with September 2025, was 6.6%, the National Institute of Statistics reported on Tuesday, October 13.

In August, the annual inflation rate was 6.2%.

The INS noted that after three months of deflation, annual inflation resumed its upward trend in September 2026. Overall, the annual inflation rate, compared with the same month of the previous year, was 6.61%, with the largest price increases once again recorded in services, at 11.12%. Over the same period, non-food goods prices rose 7.06%, while food prices rose 3%.

“The average rate of change in consumer prices over the last 12 months (October 2025 – September 2026) compared with the previous 12 months (October 2024 – September 2025) was 9.2%,” the INS stated in a press release.

Among food products, the largest price increases over this period were once again recorded for coffee, whose price rose by 13.78% in one year. Eggs ranked second, with a price increase of 10.84%, while edible oil became 7.62% more expensive.

Cow’s milk increased in price by 7.56% over the same period. For meat, prices rose by 8.5% for beef and 3.34% for both pork and poultry. Fresh fish increased in price by 5.44%, while the category of canned fish rose by 5.33%. Sugar and honey products saw prices increase by 5.81% compared with September 2025, while sugar itself fell in price by 1.67%. Among alcoholic beverages, țuică and other spirits became 5.01% more expensive, while wine rose by 4.15% and beer by 4.9%.

Other food price increases were recorded for bread, up 4.79%; cow’s milk telemea cheese, up 3.75%; and sheep’s milk telemea cheese, up 3.0%.

Price decreases in September 2026 compared with the same period of the previous year were recorded for butter, down 0.96%; flour, down 3.23%; and cornmeal, down 3.42%. Annual price decreases were also recorded for potatoes, down 3.64%, and fresh fruit, down 16.69%.

Among non-food goods, the most significant increases in September were recorded for diesel, up 37.61%, followed by gasoline, up 28.42%. Electricity, which until recently had been the leading contributor to annual price increases, rose by only 1.35% following the end of the base effect resulting from the removal of the price cap support scheme.

Other price increases in this category were recorded for thermal energy (10.70%), knitwear (7.0%), books, newspapers, and magazines (6.36%), detergents (6.25%), and tobacco and cigarettes (5.72%). Last but not least, hygiene products and cosmetics became 4.41% more expensive, while medicine prices rose by 1.9% in September.

Between September 2025 and September 2026, gas prices increased by 4.63%. One category that has received little attention so far, watches, video equipment, and sporting goods, saw prices rise by 8.53% over one year.

The INS noted that, within the services category, the largest price increases in September 2026 compared with the same month in 2025 were recorded for rents, which rose by 39.46%, followed by water, sewerage, and sanitation services, up 14.11%, and television subscriptions, up 14.02%.

Other significant annual increases in this category were recorded for car repairs (8.89%), hygiene and cosmetic services (8.12%), and clothing and footwear manufacturing and repair services (8.40%).

Meanwhile, medical care became 8.53% more expensive, urban transport fares increased by 2.46%, and road transport fares rose by 8.58%. Car subscription fees increased by 9.77%, while air transport service prices rose by 1.32% compared with September of the previous year. However, in this case, prices fell by 14% compared with August 2026. Postal service rates in September 2026 increased by 9.32% compared with the same month in 2025, restaurant and café services became 6.14% more expensive over one year, and hotel room prices rose by 3.47%.