By Geoffrey Smith 

-- Inflation in the Eurozone's largest economy is set to exceed expectations yet again in September after its largest state reported a sharp increase in prices on the month. 

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's biggest state by population and GDP, said consumer prices rose by 1.8% on the month alone, pushing the annual rate of inflation up to 10.1%.

It's the first of a handful of states to report preliminary inflation numbers early on Thursday. The Federal Statistics Office Destatis will then publish a preliminary number for Germany at around 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT). Analysts expect an annual rate of 9.4% under the national German method, and 10.0% under the harmonized EU method. NRW's numbers are composed under the national one. 

The numbers are likely to increase the pressure on the European Central Bank to keep raising interest rates faster and further than it would like. 

The increase was driven largely by rises in the price of transport, as Berlin ended the scheme of so-called 9-Euro tickets that aimed to offer a cheaper alternative to car transport while gasoline and diesel prices soared earlier in the year. Overall, transportation costs rose 9.6% on the month, as fuel prices also resumed their upward movement: retail diesel prices rose 6.8% while gasoline leaped 14%.

Household energy prices also continued to be a major source of pain, electricity prices rising 6.0% and gas prices 2.7% as previous increases in wholesale prices were passed on to consumers.

There were also solid increases in food prices, which rose 1.9%, and in clothing, where the arrival of new seasonal collections pushed prices up 5.2%.