Italian inflation accelerates to 5.4% in October on energy prices, Istat says
Preliminary estimates from Istat put the annual rise in Italian consumer prices at 5.4% in October 2026, up from 4.2%, with energy products mainly driving the acceleration.
AI illustrationItalian consumer prices rose 5.4% in October 2026 from a year earlier, up from 4.2% in September, according to preliminary estimates from Istat. The national consumer price index (NIC) increased 0.9% compared with the previous month. The statistics office reportedly published the provisional figures on Friday.
Istat said the acceleration of inflation was mainly due to energy prices. The annual rate for non-regulated energy products went from 22.5% to 29.4%, and for regulated energy products from 25.8% to 59.5%. Unprocessed food moved from 5.5% to 7.5%, services related to transport from 1.6% to 3.1%, and processed food including alcohol from -0.6% to -0.2%.
Goods prices grew 7.5% year on year, up from 5.4%, while the annual rate for services was 2.9%, up from 2.6% in the previous month.
The month-on-month rise in the overall index was mainly due to regulated energy products (+18.8%), non-regulated energy products (+4.9%), unprocessed food (+1.8%), services related to transport (+1.2%) and processed food including alcohol (+0.5%). Prices of services related to recreation, including repair and personal care, decreased by 0.9%, Istat said.
The Italian harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) recorded a month-on-month change of 1.2% and a year-on-year increase of 5.6% in October, from 4.2% in the previous month, according to the preliminary estimates.