MILANO – The ride of theinflation, albeit a slight slowdown compared to the November data. The consumer price index grew by 0.3% on a monthly basis and by 11.6% on an annual basis (from +11.8% in the previous month), in line with preliminary data. On average, in 2022 consumer prices will grow by 8.1% (+1.9% in 2021), marking the largest increase since 1985 (when it was +9.2%), mainly due to the trend of energy prices.
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The shopping cart runs faster. Consumers: “Sting of 2,400 euros per family”
More robust than the growth of the general index is that relating to shopping cart, also in this case, however, at a slower pace than in the past. The prices of food, home and personal care products “slow down” on a trend basis from +12.7% in November to +12.6%, as do those of frequently purchased products (from + 8.8% in November to +8.5%). These data also confirm the preliminary estimates.
However, the data does not ease the pressure on families. “A disaster! Istat confirms that 2022 was a black year for families. A situation, unfortunately destined to worsen in January after the irresponsible choice of the Government to re-ignite the fuse of expensive fuel. Families are in trouble and they find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, even if they draw on their savings”, he says for example Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumer Union.
“The price increase cost each Italian family, with the same consumption, a good 2,369 euros in 2022, with an overall sting that exceeds 61.3 billion euros”, is the estimate of the Codacons based on the average annual rate above 8%. Absolute users underlines how particularly alarming are the Istat numbers relating to food products, which in December mark a +13.1%, bringing the annual average of the sector to +9.1%: translated into figures, this means that only for food a In 2022, the family spent 513 euros more than the previous year, an expense which rises to +700 euros per year if we consider a household with two children. There Coldiretti exemplify: in 2022 Italians spent 2.6 billion more to put bread and pasta on the table, but vegetables also cost 2.3 billion more, while for meat there was an additional outlay of 2.2 billion compared to last year.
Returning to the Istat data, the inflation acquired for 2023, i.e. the average growth that would occur in the year if prices remained stable throughout 2023, is equal to +5.1%.
Price data also from Germania: in 2022 the rate was 7.9%, a historic record since the creation of the state after the Second World War. This was confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics. “The historically high annual inflation rate is mainly due to the extreme increases in energy and food prices since the start of the war in Ukraine,” Destatis institute president Ruth Brand explained in a press release.
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