(Teleborsa) – Inflation in Italy remained almost stable in May, thanks to the easing of tensions on the prices of food, household goods and transport, which offset other pressures in the opposite direction on the side of energy prices and services. This is what emerges from the latest report of theIstataccording to which the consumer price index (NIC) in May was in increase of 0.2% on a monthly basis and 0.8% on an annual basisas in the previous month and confirming the preliminary estimate.
The stability of inflation comes from contrasting trends of different expenditure items: in slowdown are the prices of Processed food goods (from +2.5% to +1.8%), of Services related to transport (from +2.7% to +2.4%) and Services related tohome (from +2.8% to +2.6%); on the contrary, the downward pressure is extinguished of the prices of Unregulated energy (from -13.9% to -13.5%) and that of the regulated (from -1.3% to +0.7%) and the prices of recreational, cultural and personal care services accelerated slightly (from +3.8% to +4.3%).
Underlying inflation deceleratesboth net of energy and fresh food and that net of energy goods only, which goes from +2.1% at +2%.
The trend dynamics of prices of goods record one slightly wider flexion (from -0.6% to -0.9%) and that of services is stable (to +2.9%), resulting in an increase in the inflationary differential between the services and goods sectors (+3.8 percentage points, from +3.5 in April).
The so-called “shopping cart”i.e. the prices of food, home and personal care, slows down on a trend basis (from +2.3% to +1.8%), as well as those of the products with high purchase frequency (from +2.6% in April to +2.5%).
The economic increase of the general index reflects, for the most part, the growth of the prices of Regulated energy goods (+1.9%), of the Recreational servicescultural and personal care (+1.5%) and unprocessed food (+1.4%). The effects of these increases were only partially offset by the decrease in the prices of non-regulated energy goods (-1.1%) and durable goods (-0.5%).
Inflation acquired for 2024 is equal to +0.8% for the general index and +1.8% for the underlying component. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increases by 0.2% on a monthly basis and of 0.8% year-on-year (from +0.9% in April), confirming the preliminary estimate. The national consumer price index for families of workers and employees (FOI), net of tobacco, recorded a change of 0.2% on a monthly basis and 0.8% on an annual basis.
