Italian consumer prices ticked up in February, in line with forecasts by economists who saw it as a blip in an otherwise downward trend.
Prices rose a preliminary 0.3 per cent in February from January for a 2.4 per cent increase year-on-year, official statistics agency Istat said today.
After price data from major Italian cities on Thursday, economists calculated the same monthly inflation figure and, while most saw a 2.3 per cent annual inflation rate, a minority expected a 2.4 per cent rise on the year.
January's inflation came in at 0.2 per cent on the month and hit an 18-month low of 2.2 per cent on the year.
Despite February's slight rise, economists see Italian inflation following a continuing downward trend due to the beneficial effects of a strong euro and slowing labour costs.