Italy: Inflation stable in December

Consumer prices recorded zero growth in December over the previous month, which matched market expectations and the preliminary estimate released by the National Statistical Institute on 30 December. December’s print followed the 0.4% fall tallied in November. The reading mainly reflected that an increase in prices of services related to recreation was offset by a decrease in prices of services related to transport. Inflation in December remained stable at November’s 0.1%.

Core consumer prices, which exclude more volatile categories such as unprocessed food and energy, rose 0.1% in December over the previous month, contrasting November’s 0.5% fall. Core inflation tallied 0.6% in December (November: 0.7%). Finally, annual harmonized inflation came in at 0.1% in December, which was below November’s 0.2% and marked an eight-month low.

Met the why particular Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 0.9% in 2016, which is unchanged from last month’s projection. For 2017, panelists expect inflation to average 1.3%.