The annual inflation rate in Italy slightly increased to 1.6% in February 2025, up from 1.5% in January, following a downward revision from the preliminary estimate of 1.7%, and falling below initial market expectations of 1.7%.
Italy inflation rate revised lower
Despite this downward adjustment, it marked the highest inflation rate since September 2023, signaling that consumer price growth is gradually normalizing after the base effects from the 2022 energy crisis. This crisis had driven inflation to remain below the 1.5% threshold for the past 15 months.
The inflationary pressure was particularly pronounced in regulated energy goods, which saw a sharp acceleration, rising by 31.4% compared to 27.5% in January. Conversely, non-regulated energy prices declined at a slower rate, falling by just 1.9%, compared to a sharper drop of 3% the previous month. At the same time, inflation softened for several key sectors, with transportation services rising 1.9% (down from 2.5% in January), recreational and cultural services increasing by 3% (down from 3.3%), and communication services seeing a smaller increase of 0.5% (down from 1.1%).
Core inflation remains steady
Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes energy and food products, remained steady at 1.8%, signaling that underlying price pressures in the broader economy have stabilized. On a monthly basis, Italian consumer prices rose by 0.2% in February, suggesting modest inflationary trends in the short term, although concerns about energy prices and global economic factors may continue to influence the outlook.
