In July, the national consumer price index for the entire community (NIC), gross of tobacco, recorded an increase of 0.4% on a monthly basis and 7.9% on an annual basis (from + 8% of the previous month), confirming the preliminary estimate. This was announced by Istat, specifying that inflation on a trend basis remains high even though it is reduced by a tenth of a percentage point and this is due to contrasting trends. On the one hand, in fact, the prices of energy goods slow down (from + 48.7% in June to + 42.9%) due to regulated energy sources (from + 64.3% to + 47.9%) with prices unregulated energy which grew by 39.8% (from + 39.9%) and decelerated the prices of recreational, cultural and personal care services (from + 5% to + 4.6%); on the other hand, the prices of processed food goods (from + 8.1% to + 9.5%), of services relating to transport (from + 7.2% to + 8.9%), of
non-durable goods (from + 2.9% to + 3.6%), Durable goods (from + 2.8% to + 3.3%) and miscellaneous services (from + 1.1% to
+1,6%).
“Core inflation”, net of energy and fresh food, accelerates from + 3.8% to + 4.1% and
that net of energy goods alone from + 4.2% to + 4.7%.
Commenting on the data, Istat stresses that the slowdown in the prices of energy goods in July does not stop the long wave of inflationary tensions that are spreading to other product sectors. In fact, the growth in the prices of processed food, durable and non-durable goods, services relating to transport and various services accelerates, pushing inflation net of energy and fresh food (core component; + 4.1%) and that net of energy goods alone (+ 4.7%) to levels not seen, respectively, since June and May 1996. “In this context, the growth in prices of the so-called” shopping cart “is also accelerating, leads to + 9.1%, registering an increase that has not been observed since September 1984 ”, concludes the statistical institute.