Consumer prices - September 2026

In September 2026 the Italian consumer price index for the whole nation (NIC) was +0.7% compared with the previous month and +4.2% on annual basis (from +3.3%), confirming the flash estimate.

The acceleration of inflation was mainly due to the dynamics of prices of Regulated energy products (from +18.6% to +25.8%), of Non-regulated energy products (from +17.0% to +22.5%), of Unprocessed food (from +3.8% to +5.5%), of Services related to recreation, including repair and personal care (from +2.6% to +2.9%) and of Services related to transport (from +0.8% to +1.6%).

In September 2026, core inflation (excluding energy and unprocessed food) was +1.6% (from +1.5% in August) and inflation excluding energy was +2.0% (from +1.7% in the previous month).

The prices of Grocery and unprocessed food increased by 0.4% on monthly basis and by 1.5% on annual basis (up from +0.9% in the previous month).

The month-on-month increase in the overall index was mainly due to the prices of Regulated energy products (+5.8%), of Non-regulated energy products (+4.6%), of Unprocessed food (+2.2%), of Services related to recreation, including repair and personal care (+0.5%) and of Durable goods (+0.4%). On the contrary, prices of Services related to transport (-2.5%) and of Processed food including alcohol (-0.6%) decreased.

In September 2026 the Italian harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) recorded a month-on-month change of +2.1% (due to the summer sales not considered by NIC) and a year-on-year increase of +4.2% (from +3.2% in the previous month); the flash estimate was +4.1%.

In the third quarter of 2026, inflation measured by the HICP showed higher increases for households with lower spending capacity and smaller increases for those with higher level of equivalent expenditure (+4.4% and +2.9% respectively).