Italy consumer prices deteriorate in October, HICP rises on month

Consumer prices in Italy deteriorated during the month of October, although the harmonized index remain upright during the period.

Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP) rose 0.2 percent month on month in October but edged down 0.1 percent on the year, statistics office ISTAT said on Monday.

The final figures confirmed a preliminary estimate, showing a return to the annual price deflation which has been seen for almost every month this year, after a fleeting year-on-year price increase in September.

ISTAT revised preliminary data for the main domestic price index (NIC), to show a 0.1 percent fall on the month and a 0.2 percent annual drop, versus a previous indication of no monthly change and a 0.1 percent fall on the year.

The higher month-on-month reading for the HICP is due to a price rebound after discount summer sales of clothes and footwear. The NIC index does not calculate items affected by temporary discount sales.

Meanwhile, core inflation (net of fresh food and energy) was running at 0.2 percent on the year on the NIC index in October, down from 0.5 percent in September. No core inflation data is available for the HICP.