In May, inflation fell again, but it was still +7.6% on an annual basis

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In May, inflation starts to fall again, after the rise recorded in April, returning to the level of March 2023 (+7.6%). The slowdown certified by Istat still appears to be strongly influenced by the dynamics of the prices of energy goods. In the food sector, the prices of processed products show an attenuation of their growth on an annual basis, which contributes to the deceleration of core inflation (which fell to +6%).

Lastly, the phase of slowdown in the trend growth of shopping cart prices continues, which was +11.2% in May. The Istat communicates it.

The deceleration of the inflation rate is due to the slowdown on a trend basis in the prices of non-regulated energy goods (from +26.6% to +20.3%) and those of processed food (from +14% to +13%, 2%), of Other goods (+5.3% to +5%), of Services relating to transport (from +6% to +5.6%) and of Recreational, cultural and personal care services ( from +6.9% to +6.7%).

Effects only partially offset by the upward tensions in the prices of unprocessed food (from +8.4% to +8.8%) and those of services relating to housing (from +3.2% to +3.5 %). Core inflation, excluding energy and fresh food, recorded a slight slowdown from +6.2% to +6%, as did that excluding energy, which fell from +6.3% to +6 ,2%. The growth on an annual basis of the prices of goods slows down (from +10.3% to +9.3%) and to a lesser extent that of services (from +4.8% to +4.6%). The prices of food, home and personal care goods slow down in trend terms (from +11.6% to +11.2%), as do those of frequently purchased products (from +7.9 % to +7.1%).

The cyclical increase in the general index is mainly due to the prices of unprocessed food (+1.5%), recreational, cultural and personal care services (+1%), processed food (+0.6 %) and Services relating to housing (+0.4%), which are opposed by the drop in the prices of unregulated (-1.6%) and regulated (-0.2%) Energy. The harmonized index of consumer prices increased by 0.3% on a monthly basis and by 8% on an annual basis (from +8.6% in April); the preliminary estimate was +8.1%.