Shopping carts with a one Euro deposit system stand at a shopping mall in Unterhaching, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

BERLIN (Reuters) -Inflation rose in four key German states in September, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, pointing to an increase in national inflation and in line with analysts' forecasts.

In Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, year-on-year inflation grew to 2.3% from 2.0% in August.

That upward trend was reflected in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Lower Saxony, where the inflation rate rose to 2.4%, 2.7% and 2.3%, respectively.

National figures will be published at 2:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), with analysts expecting a slight rise in harmonised inflation to 2.2% in September from 2.1% the month before.

As Europe's largest economy, German inflation could give an indication of the developments in euro zone inflation, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday.

Analysts expect September euro zone inflation to rise to 2.2% from last month's 2.0%, which is the European Central Bank's target.

The ECB left interest rates unchanged this month, remaining upbeat on the economy and indicating that it is in no hurry to cut rates again.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, editing by Thomas Seythal)