A supermarket exterior in Milan. Archive consumer scene, not a photograph of current prices. Photo: Cristian1989 / Wikimedia Commons. Resized under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Italy’s annual inflation rate rose to 5.4% in October from 4.2% in September, as rising energy prices pushed consumer costs higher, according to preliminary estimates released Friday by the national statistics agency Istat.
The national consumer price index, including tobacco, increased 0.9% from September. Istat said the annual inflation rate returned to the level recorded in August 2023.
Energy prices were 31.4% above their year-earlier level, compared with an annual increase of 22.6% in September. Regulated energy prices rose 59.5% year over year, while non-regulated energy prices increased 29.4%.
The pressure was not confined to energy. Unprocessed food prices rose 7.5% from a year earlier, up from 5.5% in September. Inflation in transport-related services accelerated to 3.1% from 1.6%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy and fresh food, increased to 2.0% from 1.6%. Prices in Istat’s basket of food, household cleaning and personal care products rose 2.5%, compared with 1.5% in September.
Italy’s European Union-harmonized consumer price index rose 5.6% from a year earlier and 1.2% from September. That measure differs from the national index used for the 5.4% headline rate.
The figures remain preliminary. Istat lists November 17 as the next release date.
JBizNews Desk | Rome
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