Italy: Inflation at 15-month low in July
Consumer prices rose 0.1% month-on-month in July, matching June’s reading, according to provisional data released by the National Statistical Institute (ISTAT) on 31 July. The figure reflected higher prices for services related to recreation, and for services related to transport, more than offsetting lower prices for unprocessed food, regulated energy products and non-regulated energy products. Meanwhile, inflation decelerated to 0.5% in July, from June’s 0.7%, marking the lowest reading since April 2018, mainly due to a much slower increase for prices of housing and utilities.
Core consumer prices, which exclude more volatile categories such as unprocessed food and energy, rose 0.3% from the previous month in July, following June’s 0.2% increase. Meanwhile, core inflation inched up from June’s 0.4% to 0.5%, while harmonized inflation fell to 0.4% from June’s 0.8%, the lowest record since end 2016.