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Press release

Consumer prices

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In December 2017, the Italian consumer price index for the whole nation (NIC) increased by 0.4% on monthly basis and by 0.9 with respect to December 2016 (the same annual rate of change observed in November 2017). The flash estimate was confirmed.

In 2017, the average annual rate of change of consumer prices, measured by NIC, was positive again (+1.2%, from -0.1% in 2016); excluding energy and unprocessed food, core inflation was +0.7% (up from +0.5% in 2016).

In December, the stability of inflation was spread across the several typologies of product, with the exception of the speed-up of the annual growth of prices of Services related to transport (+2.8%, from +2.2% in the previous month), offset by the slowdown of the annual growth of prices of both Unprocessed food (+2.4% from +3.2% in the previous month) and Non-regulated energy products (+4.4% from +5.0% in November 2017).

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, core
inflation in December was +0.4% and inflation excluding energy was +0.6% (both of them as in November 2017).

The increase on monthly basis of All items index was mainly due to prices of Services related to transport (+2.5%) and to a less extent to prices of Non-regulated energy products (+0.6%), Services related to recreation, including repair and personal care (+0.4%) and Unprocessed food (+0.3%).

The annual rate of change of prices of Goods was +1.1% (down from 1.3% in November) and that one of prices of Services was +0.6% (up from +0.5%). As a consequence, the inflationary gap between Services and Goods was negative and equal to -0.5 percentage points (it was -0.8 in November 2017).

In December 2017, the rate of change of Italian harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased by 0.3% compared with the previous month and by 1.0% with respect to December 2016 (it was +1.1% in November 2017). The flash estimate was confirmed.

Both core inflation (all items excluding energy
and unprocessed food), measured by Italian HICP and inflation excluding energy, food alcohol and tobacco were +0.5% (the first as in November 2017 and the second up from +0.4%), while inflation excluding energy was +0.7% (the same annual rate of change observed in the previous month).

The average annual inflation rate for 2017, measured by Italian HICP, was equal to +1.3% (from -0.1 in 2016); excluding energy and unprocessed food, core inflation was +0.8% (up from +0.5% in 2016).

In December 2017, the rate of change of Italian harmonized index of consumer prices at constant tax rates (HICP-CT) increased by 0.3% compared with the previous month and by 0.9% with respect to December 2016. Therefore, the difference between HICP and HICP-CT growth rates[1] – which incorporates the effects of changes in indirect taxes occurred in the last twelve months – was positive and equal 0.1 percentage points.

On average, in 2017, the HICP
registered a reversal trend for households with less purchasing power (+1.4%, from -0.5% in 2016, for the first group) and a speed-up for households with greater spending power (+1.3%, from +0.1% in the previous year, for the fifth group). The difference between the inflation for the first group and the inflation for the second one was slightly positive (+0.1 percentage points) whereas it was negative and equal to -0.6 percentage points in 2016.

 

Reference period: December 2017

Date of Issue: 16 January 2018

Next release: 2 February 2018

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