FX.co ★ Italy Inflation Climbs To 1.5%, Highest In 15 Months

According to preliminary data released by the statistical office on Monday, Italy experienced a rise in consumer price inflation at the beginning of the year, reaching its highest point in over a year.

In January, consumer price inflation climbed to 1.5 percent, up from a stable rate of 1.3 percent recorded in December.

This increase in inflation was largely driven by a notable 27.8 percent surge in costs associated with regulated energy products, compared to a 12.7 percent rise in December.

Conversely, the decline in prices for non-regulated energy products lessened, decreasing to 3.0 percent from 4.2 percent. The data also indicated that annual price growth in food, including alcohol, accelerated to 2.0 percent from 1.7 percent.

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, core inflation remained steady at 1.8 percent.

On a monthly basis, there was a 0.6 percent rise in consumer prices in January, surpassing the anticipated increase of 0.4 percent.

Furthermore, inflation measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased to 1.7 percent in January from 1.4 percent in the preceding month. However, on a monthly scale, the HICP saw a decrease of 0.7 percent.