The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries using the euro rose 0.5% month-on-month in September for a 3.4% year-on-year rise, as earlier estimated by Eurostat.

While the headline number was well above the European Central Bank's target of 2%, the overshoot was mainly a result of a 17.6% year-on-year surge in energy prices and a 2.0% rise in the costs of food, alcohol and tobacco.

Without these volatile items, or what the ECB calls core inflation, prices grew 0.4% month-on-month for a 1.9% year-on-year increase, faster than the 1.6% annual rise in August.

Eurostat said energy prices were responsible for almost half of the overall year-on-year inflation reading, adding 1.63 points to the final result. Services added another 0.72 points and prices of non-energy industrial goods a further 0.57 points.

The ECB expects consumer prices will start easing again in 2022.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)