(Finance) – In March, Istat estimates that the national consumer price index for the whole community (NIC), gross of tobaccos, you register an increase of 1% on a monthly basis and of 6.5% on an annual basis (from + 5.7% in the previous month); the preliminary estimate was + 6.7%.
The harmonized index of consumer prices with constant taxation (HICP-TC) – underlines the Institute of Statistics – makes it possible to measure inflation, purifying it of the effects due to changes in the indirect taxation system. In March, the trend change in the HICP was + 6.8%, while for the HICP-TC it was + 7.5%: this would therefore have been inflation in the absence of the measures adopted by the government to reduce VAT on gas (already in force in October 2021) and excise duties on fuels. In particular, the reduction of the latter has spread its effects starting from March 22, limiting the price growth of this group of products; moreover – specifies the Institute of Statistics – this explains, in large part, the revision that took place with respect to the preliminary estimate.
The acceleration in inflation on a trend basis is also due this month mainly to the prices of energy goods (whose growth goes from + 45.9% in February to + 50.9%), in particular those of the non-regulated component (from + 31.3% to + 36.4%) while the prices of the regulated component continue to be almost double those recorded in the same month last year (+ 94.6%, as in February). The prices of both processed (from + 3.1% to + 3.9%) and unprocessed (from + 6.9% to + 8.0%) food goods, as well as those of durable goods (from +1, 2% to + 1.6%) and semi-durable goods (from + 1.0% to + 1.5%). The prices of services relating to transport, on the other hand, recorded a slowdown (from + 1.4% to + 1%).
Core inflationnet of energy and fresh food, accelerates from + 1.7% to + 1.9% and that net of energy goods alone from + 2.1% to + 2.5%.
On an annual basis, the prices of goods accelerated significantly (from + 8.6% to + 9.8%), while those of services remained stable (+ 1.8%); therefore the negative inflation differential between the latter and the prices of goods widens (from -6.8 percentage points in February to -8).
They accelerate both the prices of food goods, for home and personal care (from + 4.1% to + 5.0%) and those of high-frequency purchasing products (from + 5.3% to + 6.5%).
The cyclical increase in the general index – adds Istat – is mainly due to the prices of non-regulated energy goods (+ 7.1%) and to a lesser extent of processed food goods (+ 0.9%) , Services relating to transport (+ 0.9%), Unprocessed food (+ 0.6%) and Semi-durable goods (+ 0.5%).
Acquired inflation for 2022 it is equal to + 5.2% for the general index and + 1.5% for the core component.
The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increases by 2.4% on a monthly basis, also due to the end of the winter sales, which the NIC does not take into account, and by 6.8% on an annual basis (from + 6.2% in February); the preliminary estimate was + 7%.
The national consumer price index for blue-collar and white-collar households (FOI), net of tobacco, recorded an increase of 1.0% on a monthly basis and 6.4% on an annual basis.
In the first quarter of 2022 the impact of inflation, measured by the HICP, is larger on households with lower spending power than those with higher spending levels (+ 8.3% and + 4.9% respectively).