The weakness ofinflation involves, with different intensities, all five groups in which theIstat divided Italian families according to their total expenditure (from the lowest in the first group to the highest in the fifth), even if, according to the Institute of Statistics, in the second quarter of 2015 the harmonized consumer price indices show signs of a slight trend recovery.
In April-June this year, the trend dynamic of consumer prices (equal to +0,1% on average) is between 0,3%, measured for families with the highest spending levels (those in the last group), and -0,2% for families with the lowest average monthly expenditure (those in the first group).
What weighs on the deflation recorded by some groups is above all the paper machine bending of energy prices, which has an impact above all on families with lower spending levels. The acceleration, however limited, of the trend dynamics of the prices of non-energy industrial goods and of recreational, cultural and personal care services, instead has a greater impact for households with higher spending levels.
Over a longer time horizon, consumer prices of households in the first group (with the lowest spending levels) increased by 21,6% between 2005 (base year of the indices) and the first half of 2015. On the same over time, the growth in consumer prices for families with greater spending power was 18,3%. For households as a whole, the variation measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices was 19,3%.
