September 2026 annual inflation accelerated to 4.0% in Poland from 3.4% in August and to 4.2% in Italy from 3.3%. Italy's domestic NIC index rose 0.7% month-on-month, its highest annual increase since September 2023, while the EU-harmonized HICP rose 2.0% on the month and 4.1% annually. Energy prices were the main driver in Italy, with regulated energy inflation reaching 25.9% and unregulated energy inflation 22.2%; unprocessed food inflation also climbed to 5.5%. Italy's consumer-confidence index fell to 91.2 from 94.5 and its business-confidence indicator declined to 95.9 from 97.0. Poland's increase was driven largely by fuel prices, which rose sharply amid Middle East turmoil.