America News Agency

The core inflation rate, which excludes more volatile energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco prices, was 2.7 percent. It was forecast to remain unchanged from the August reading of 2.8 percent.

The data showed that services inflation in the eurozone eased to 4 percent in September, down from 4.1 percent in August.

The figures come after September inflation eased below the 2 percent European Central Bank target in several key eurozone economies, including France and Germany. The harmonized inflation rate in Europe's leading economy dropped by more than expected to 1.8 percent annually, preliminary data showed Monday.

On Monday, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that policymakers were becoming more confident about inflation returning to the 2 percent target.

"Looking ahead, inflation might temporarily increase in the fourth quarter of this year as previous sharp falls in energy prices drop out of the annual rates, but the latest developments strengthen our confidence that inflation will return to target on time," she said at a hearing of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

"We will consider that in our next monetary policy meeting in October," Lagarde added. The ECB is next set to meet on Oct. 17.

The economists had previously been forecasting that the central bank would hold rates steady this month but now said that Lagarde's comments were "the same justification she used for the September cut," which suggested a "quasi-clear "go" for October."