Inflation has increased for the eighth consecutive month and also affects the most common products purchased by consumers: what are the figures and possible causes.
Inflation is experiencing new growth. This is the eighth consecutive month in which there is an increase, reaching levels comparable to those of November 1995. What are the causes of the surge in inflation and the figures for the increases?
Inflation rises, never so high since 1995: how the shopping cart changes
Preliminary estimates by Istat show how the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased, during the month just ended, by 0.8% on a monthly basis and by 6.2% on an annual basis. In January, the increase on an annual basis was instead estimated at 5.1%.
The prices of products that end up in the shopping cart of consumers are also growing, including food, household, and personal care products: from + 3.2% in January to + 4.2% in February.
Increases also for products with a high frequency of purchase, such as fuel, rents, transport, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, which went from + 4.3% to + 5.4% overall. This is the eighth month that sees inflation rising once again and bringing it back to the levels it reached in 1995.
What are the possible causes behind the increase in inflation
The prices of goods recorded an overall increase from 7% in January to 8.6% in February.
Services, on the other hand, in the month just ended showed an increase of 1.9%. The causes behind the rise in inflation are different.
Among the reasons stands out the increase in the prices of energy goods, equal to + 38.6% in January and then rising to 45.9% in February. Those not regulated went from + 22.9% to + 31.3%. Compared to 2021, the prices of regulated energy goods registered a + 94.4% in February, therefore they almost doubled.
Food goods were also affected by the wave of increases: those processed increased by 3.2% in February, while the increase in unprocessed ones reached + 6.9%. Core inflation thus reaches 1.7% net of the energy and food components.
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