- Prior +4.2%
- HICP +5.6% vs +4.6% y/y expected
- Prior +4.2%
Inflation accelerated sharply in October 2026, but the increase was primarily driven by energy prices, with both regulated and non-regulated energy products recording significant increases. Regulated energy inflation surged from 25.8% to 59.5% y/y, while non-regulated energy prices accelerated from 22.5% to 29.4%. Higher energy costs remain the dominant driver of the inflationary shock.
However, price pressures were not limited to energy. Unprocessed food inflation accelerated from 5.5% to 7.5%, while processed food prices also returned to positive annual growth. Services inflation picked up more modestly, rising to 2.9% from 2.6%, with transport-related services accelerating to 3.1%.
The goods component was particularly notable, with annual inflation jumping to 7.5% from 5.4%, while services inflation remained considerably more contained. This suggests that the latest acceleration is still heavily concentrated in goods and energy-related costs rather than reflecting an equally broad-based increase across the services sector.
Overall, the data points to significant inflationary shock in Italy, largely driven by surging energy costs but increasingly spilling over into food and transportation prices.
This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.