17/9/2011 00:00:00
According to Istat, the final data on relative consumer prices in August 2011 confirm the provisional estimate. Inflation for 2011 amounts to 2.6%. Core inflation, calculated net of energy and food, rose to 2.2% with an acceleration of a tenth of a percentage point in July (+2.1%). Excluding energy goods alone, the trend growth rate of consumer price index stabilizes at 2.1%. The trend growth of prices of goods rose to 2.9% from 2.8% the previous month, while prices of services down to 2.5% (it was 2.7% in July). As a result of these developments, the inflation differential between goods and services increased by three tenths of a point compared to the month of July. In August, the main effect of support to the dynamic of the general index comes from the conjuncture increase by 0.9% of non-regulated energy prices, resulting in further acceleration of their trend rate of growth (15.5%, from 13.6% in July). A significant impact is also due to the conjuncture rise of prices of services related to transport (+2.5%). By contrast, the main effect of containment, is due to the conjuncture decline in prices of unprocessed food products (-0.6%). The prices of most frequently purchased products increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis and 3.6% on an annual basis (it was 3.4% in July). A rise of 0.5% is detected for medium-term frequency of purchase prices, which rose by 2.8% compared to August 2010. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased by 0.4% on a monthly basis and 2.3% on an annual basis (the provisional estimate was +2.2%), with an acceleration of two-tenths of a percentage point compared to July 2011 (+2.1%). The national index of consumer prices for families of workers and employees (WEF), net of tobacco, increases by 0.3% on a monthly basis and by 2.8% compared to August 2010.
