Italy’s consumer price inflation accelerated unexpectedly in October, though slightly, preliminary figures from the statistical office Istat showed Friday.
The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent year-over-year in October, faster than September’s 0.2 percent increase. Economists had forecast inflation to remain stable at 0.2 percent.
The slight rise in inflation was mainly due to faster growth in the prices of unprocessed Food and recreational, cultural and personal care, the agency said.
Excluding unprocessed food and energy prices, core inflation held steady at 0.8 percent in October.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.2 percent in October, exceeding economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent rise. In September, prices had fallen 0.4 percent.
The EU measure of inflation, or HICP, climbed at a slightly faster pace of 0.3 percent annually in October, following a 0.1 percent drop in September. The expected rate of rise was only 0.1 percent.
Monthly, the harmonized index of consumer prices increased 0.5 percent, faster than the 0.3 percent hike expected by economists. However, it was slower than previous month’s 1.6 percent climb.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com