ROME: Italy’s main domestic price index (NIC) rose 0.4% on the month in February and increased 1.6% on the year, boosted by gains in fresh food prices, national statistics office ISTAT said on Wednesday, revising up preliminary estimates (of +0.3% on the month and +1.5% on the year).
February’s annual inflation rate accelerated from a 1% increase on the year in January to reach its highest in four years: to find a higher rate you have to go back to February 2013 (when it was 1.9%).
The acceleration in inflation was driven by growth in prices of more volatile sectors, such as unprocessed food (+8.8% compared to +5.3% in January) and non-regulated energy products (+12.1% compared to +9.0% the previous month). These combine with the trend in prices of transport services (+2.4%, up from +1.0% in January) and the slowing in the decline in regulated energy goods (-1.6% against -2.8% of the previous month).
Trento and Bolzano are the cities with the highest inflation rates, while Milan and Naples saw an annual rate of +2.1%, up from +1.4% in January.
ISTAT noted record increases in fresh vegetable prices (+12.5% on the month and +37.2% on the year) and a rise in the typical “shopping cart” (basket of goods) of Italians, which saw its highest increase in eight years in February 2017. Net of fresh food and energy, the rise in inflation is significantly smaller, and reduced to a decimal point (+0.6% from +0.5% the month before). Farmers association Coldiretti clarified in a statement that the surge in vegetable prices on the wave of freezing weather and snow in February is slowing down with the arrival of new production in March.
On an annual basis, growth in the index of Goods was +2% after +1.2% in January, a more marked acceleration compared to the rise in the Services segment (+0.9% compared to 0.7% in January).
Finally, ISTAT highlighted an increase of 1.1% on a monthly basis and of 3.1% annually in prices of food products, for care of the home and of the person, while prices of frequently purchased products rose 0.7% in February (+3.2% on an annual basis).
