Italy's consumer price inflation accelerates more than initially estimates in Jan

Official statistics agency ISTAT said on Wednesday sharply revised higher Italy's EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP).  ISTAT latest figures showed Italy's consumer price index climbed 1.0 percent year-over-year in January instead of a 0.7 percent rise in flash estimate. This was followed by a 0.5 percent increase in December. Month-on-month, the HICP declined 1.7 percent, slower than the 2.0 percent fall estimated earlier.

ISTAT also raised Italian consumer price index for the whole nation (NIC), which was up 0.3 percent on the month and up 1.0 percent on an annual basis (the flash estimate was +0.9). The year-on-year readings for the HICP and the NIC were both the highest since August 2013, ISTAT said.

The annual increase in January was mainly driven by a 9.0 percent surge in prices of non-regulated energy products and by a 5.3 percent rise in unprocessed food. Core inflation eased slightly to 0.5 percent in January from 0.6 percent in the prior month, in line with the flash data published on February 3.