Consumer prices

In April 2018, the Italian consumer price index for the whole nation (NIC) increased by 0.1% on monthly basis and by 0.5% compared with April 2017 (it was +0.8% in March 2018), confirming the flash estimate.

In April, the slowdown of the growth on annual basis of All items index was mainly due to the trend reversal of prices of Regulated energy products (from +5.0% in March to -1.2%) and Services related to transport (from +2.5% to -0.7%), strengthened by the prices of Services related to communication (-0.7%) which also reversed the trend from the previous month (+0.4%).

The slowdown would have been wider without the acceleration of prices of Processed food including alcohol (from +1.2% to +1.8%) and the reversal trend of Unprocessed food (from -0.4% to +0.7%).

Inflation excluding energy and unprocessed food (core inflation) was +0.5% (down from +0.7% in March) as inflation excluding energy (+0.5% as in the previous month).

The increase on monthly basis of All items index was mainly due to the rises of prices of Non-regulated energy products (+1.1%), Services related to recreation, including repair and personal care (+1.0%, which were affected by seasonal factors) and Processed food including alcohol (+0.7%), almost completely offset by the decrease of prices of Regulated energy products (-5.5%).

The annual rate of change of prices of Goods was +0.7% (the same value registered in the previous month) and that one of prices of Services was +0.3% (down from +0.9%). As a consequence, the inflationary gap between Services and Goods was negative and equal to -0.4 percentage points (+0.2 in the previous month).
Prices of Grocery and unprocessed food increased by 0.4% on monthly basis and by 1.2% on annual basis (up from +0.4% in March).

In April 2018, according to preliminary estimates, the Italian harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) increased by 0.5% compared with March and by 0.6% with respect to April 2017 (it was +0.9% in the previous month).

The increase on monthly basis was mainly due to the final end of the winter sales of Clothing and footwear (+3.4% compared with March 2018), which are not taken into account in the national index NIC.

In April core inflation, measured by Italian HICP was +0.5% (down from +0.8% in March). Also inflation excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco (+0.2%) and inflation excluding energy (+0.6%) decelerated (both of them down from +0.7% in the previous month).

In April 2018, the Italian harmonized index of consumer prices at constant tax (HICP-CT) increased by 0.5% compared with the previous month and by 0.6% with respect to April 2017. Therefore, the difference between HICP and HICP-CT growth rates – which incorporates the effects of changes in indirect taxes occurred in the last twelve months – was null.