Inflation now seems to have become “chronic”, even in the Bergamo area: no more rapid and “boom” increases, but a slow and constant climb upwards. Even the latest Istat survey on a provincial basis – referring to prices recorded in March – confirms this trend: in the Bergamo area, inflation on an annual basis now stands at 1% (the February data instead indicated a +0.4 %), while inflation on a monthly basis returns to +0.2% (in February it had instead fallen to -0.2%).
The biggest increases
Looking at the change on an annual basis, the item in the basket with the highest increases is represented by transport services (+9.1%), but rents (+4.6%), accommodation services (hotels and non-hotel, +4.4%) and catering (+3.7%). In the last month, transport has always shown the most significant increase: rail transport saw prices grow by 1.5%, air transport by 17.5%.
Increase of 279 euros per family
«The slight acceleration in prices – explains Istat – reflects the easing of the trend-based decline in the prices of energy goods. Support for inflation is also due to the acceleration in the prices of transport-related services. On the other hand, the prices of unprocessed food products also showed a slowdown in March: this slows down the annual dynamics of shopping cart prices”. Calculations by the National Consumer Union estimate that the current annual inflation of 1% translates into an increase in prices of 279 euros (per year) for the average Bergamo family: Bergamo is the third province with the highest price increases in Lombardy and the 38th in Italy.
