In May, according to preliminary estimates by Istat, the national consumer price index for the entire community (NIC), gross of tobacco, recorded a 0,3% month-on-month increase and an equal year-on-year decrease (-0,3%, it was -0,5% in April).
Italy therefore remains on a trend basis in deflation, even if the scaling of the annual decline can be attributed to the trend reversal in tobacco prices (+2% from -0,3% in April) and unprocessed food (+ 0,3% from -0,5%), explains Istat. The persistence of deflationary dynamics is largely attributable to the sharp declines in the prices of energy goods (-8,2% compared to May 2015), net of which inflation is equal to +0,5% (+0,4% in April). Net of unprocessed food and energy goods, core inflation accelerates to +0,6% (from +0,5% in April).
The monthly increase of the index depends on theincrease in tobacco prices (+2,4%), unregulated energy goods (+1,7%) and unprocessed food (+1%).
At the European level, however, the flash estimate of Eurostat indicates -0,1% in May after -0,2% in April, 0% in March, -0,2% in February, +0,3% in January. The highest annual rate is in services, 1% compared to 0,9% in April, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (0,8%, stable compared to April), non-energy industrial goods (stable at 0,5 %) and energy (-8,1% compared to -8,7%). The final data will be published on 16 June.
