Energy prices drive up Italian inflation to 11.8% in Oct

Rome, Nov 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Consumer prices in Italy rose by 11.8 per cent in October compared to a year earlier, the government's statistics entity said.

Energy-related impacts continued to play an oversized role, according to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

It said the final data for the consumer price index in October is lower than the 11.9-per cent estimate released last month, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, it is still a record since Italy's adoption of the euro currency in 1999.

The last time prices rose so sharply in one month was in June 1983, when inflation hit 13 per cent during a period when Italy was still using the lira currency.

In September this year, prices were 8.9 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Soaring energy prices continue to drive up other prices, ISTAT said, with prices for energy goods increasing by 71.1 per cent in October compared to a year earlier.

In September, the year-on-year increase was 44.5 per cent.

Food prices, which are influenced due to costs for transportation, mechanisation, and fertilizer, also rose dramatically, increasing by 13.3 per cent compared to October 2021.

This was faster than the 11.4-per cent increase recorded in September.

ISTAT said that the country's "core" inflation rate -- a calculation that excludes energy and food costs -- still came in at 5.3 per cent in October, an increase from 5 per cent a year earlier.

Over the first 10 months of the year, prices rose by 8 per cent, ISTAT said, while the "core" rate increased by 3.7 per cent over the same period.

Source: IANS