Italy: Pace of decline in annual prices sharpens in August
Consumer prices rose 0.3% month-on-month in August, contrasting July’s 0.1% dip. The figure mainly reflected higher prices for services related to transport and for services related to recreation—mainly due to seasonal factors.
Meanwhile, prices were 0.5% lower from the same month of the previous year, a slightly sharper drop than July’s 0.4% decline and the lowest reading since June 2016.
Core consumer prices, which exclude more volatile categories such as unprocessed food and energy, jumped 0.4% from the previous month in August, following July’s flat reading. Meanwhile, core inflation ticked down from 0.4% in July to 0.3% in August, while harmonized prices fell 0.5% compared the same period of 2019, contrasting July’s 0.8% increase.