Consumer prices in Italy were 0.7% higher on an annual basis in September 2024, data from Istat has found, down on the 1.1% annual increase recorded in August.
On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index fell by 0.2%.
The slowdown in the annual inflation rate was largely due to declines in the price of regulated energy products (from +14.3% to +10.4%), of Non-regulated energy products (from -8.6% to -11.0%), of services related to recreation, including repair and personal care (from +4.5% to +4.0%) and of Services related to transport (from +2.9% to +2.4%), Istat noted.
At the same time, unprocessed food (from -0.5% to +0.3%) had an upward contribution to the inflation rate.
Core inflation rate
Core inflation in September 2024 stood at 1.8% (compared to 1.9% the previous month), while inflation excluding energy stood at +1.7% (from +1.8%).
In terms of goods and services, goods experienced a year-on-year price deflation of -0.9%, compared to -0.5% in August, while services inflation slowed to 2.8% from 3.2%. The inflation gap between services and goods remained stable at 3.7 percentage points.
Grocery and unprocessed food prices increased by 0.2% on a monthly basis and 1.0% annually, up from 0.6% in August.
Monthly decrease
The monthly decrease in the overall consumer price index was driven by falling prices in services related to transport (-2.2%), both regulated and non-regulated energy products (-1.1%), and processed food including alcohol (-0.5%). However, prices of unprocessed foods (+1.4%), durable goods (+0.4%), and semi-durable goods (+0.3%) rose. Read more here.
Earlier this week, Italy’s government announced plans to raise €4 billion by adjusting tax thresholds and eliminating certain tax deductions. This move aims to address a shortfall in the country’s finances. The measure is part of a broader effort by the government to balance its budget and reduce Italy’s public debt.
