In March 2014, the national consumer price index for the whole community, gross of tobacco, increased by 0,1% compared to the previous month and by 0,4% compared to March 2013, (it was + 0,5% in February), confirming the preliminary estimate. Istat communicated it.
The slowdown in inflation is attributable to the year-on-year decline in the prices of unregulated energy goods and unprocessed food and to the further attenuation of the trend dynamics of almost all the remaining product types. “Core inflation”, net of unprocessed food and energy goods, fell to 0,9%, from 1,0% in February; net of energy goods alone, it slowed down by two tenths of a percentage point, reaching 0,8% (from +1,0% in the previous month).
The slight monthly rise in the general index is mainly attributable to the increases – also affected by seasonal factors – in the prices of transport services (+0,6%) and of recreational, cultural and personal care services (+ 0,2%); the cyclical increase in the prices of services relating to housing also contributes (+0,3%).
Inflation acquired for 2014 rises to 0,2%, from 0,1% in February.
Compared to March 2013, goods prices decreased by 0,3% (it was -0,1% in February) and the growth rate of services prices decreased to 1,0%, from 1,2% in the month previous. Therefore, the inflation differential between services and goods does not change compared to February 2014.
The prices of food, home and personal care products decreased by 0,3% on a monthly basis and grew by 0,7% on an annual basis (down from the +1,0% in February). The prices of frequently purchased products decreased by 0,2% compared to the previous month and increased by 0,4% compared to March 2013 (it was +0,6% in February).
The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased by 2,2% on a monthly basis and by 0,3% on an annual basis (it was +0,4% in February), confirming the provisional estimate. The monthly increase is largely due to the end of the winter clothing and footwear sales, which the NIC index does not take into account.
The national consumer price index for blue-collar and white-collar households (FOI), net of tobacco, does not change on a monthly basis and grows by 0,3% compared to March 2013.
