According to the National Institute of Statistics, prices in Italy rose 8.4% in August compared to a year earlier, a figure that hadn't been seen since December 1985.
The National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in Italy announced that prices were 8.4% higher in August than they were a year ago, the highest level since December 1985. According to preliminary ISTAT data released on Wednesday, prices were 0.8% higher in August than they were in July.
According to ISTAT, the primary driver of the increase was energy-related commodities, which had year-over-year growth of 44.9%, higher than the 42.9% increase in July. Italy's annualised inflation rate for the three months that began in June was 8%, 7.9%, and 8.4%, respectively. These are the three highest monthly totals recorded since the official launch of the euro in 1999.
Despite the rise in energy costs, the rate of growth for transportation services slowed significantly in August, expanding by 8.4% over the previous year, down from the 8.9% annualised growth recorded in July. According to ISTAT, the cost of consumer goods increased by 11.8%, while the cost of services increased by 3.7%.
While this was happening, the core inflation rate—which includes energy costs and volatile consumer products like food—rose to 4.4%, its highest level since May 1996. Comparing the first eight months of this year to the same time in 2021, the annualised inflation rate is 7%.
