Italian consumer price inflation came in at +0.1 percent on a sequential basis in April. On a year-on-year basis, the consumer price index came in at 0, affirming the flash estimate.
The deceleration of the growth on a year-on-year basis was predominantly because of the widening of the fall of prices of regulated energy products and of non-regulated energy products, which fell 14.1 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.
These dynamics were partly countered by the speed-up of prices of food including alcohol, driven by those of unprocessed food, and, to a lesser extent, by the lower fall of services related to communication.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, came in at 0.8 percent. Inflation excluding energy came in at 1 percent, rising from 0.7 percent seen in the prior month.
Prices of grocery and unprocessed food rose 1.1 percent sequentially and by 2.5 percent year-on-year, up from 1 percent in the prior month.
The Italian harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose 0.5 percent on a sequential basis. On a year-on-year basis it rose 0.1 percent, confirming the flash estimate.
