ROME, ITALY / RankWire.AI / – Italy’s annual consumer inflation eased to 2.9% in July 2026 from 3.0% in June. Final national data on Aug. 12 showed consumer prices rose 0.3% from June. At the end of July, preliminary data had put the annual rate at 2.8%. The final reading therefore came 0.1 percentage point above the flash estimate. July marked a second straight decline in annual inflation after the rate reached 3.2% in May.
Istat said slower growth in non-regulated energy prices, unprocessed food and miscellaneous services helped cool the annual rate. Non-regulated energy inflation slowed to 11.4% from 13.3%. Unprocessed food inflation eased to 3.6% from 4.4%. Miscellaneous services inflation fell to 1.8% from 2.5%. Those declines offset stronger inflation in regulated energy and several service categories.
Regulated energy prices climbed 14.8% year over year, accelerating from 9.2% in June. Transport-related services increased 1.6%, up from 1.1%. Recreation, repair and personal care services rose 3.0%, compared with 2.7% in June. Goods inflation eased to 3.2% from 3.3%, while services inflation increased to 2.7% from 2.6%. Core inflation, excluding energy and unprocessed food, held at 1.6% for a second month.
Energy and food prices reshape July inflation
Monthly movements showed a similar split across categories. Regulated energy prices rose 6.5% from June, while transport-related services increased 1.4%. Recreation, repair and personal care services gained 0.6%, and non-regulated energy prices rose 0.5%. Processed food including alcohol and housing-related services each increased 0.3%. Unprocessed food prices fell 1.3% from June. The pattern left the overall national index 0.3% higher than in June.
At the broader spending-category level, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 7.2% from July 2025. Transport prices increased 4.3%, and restaurants and accommodation services gained 3.4%. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 1.4%, while clothing and footwear increased 0.9%. The index excluding energy rose 1.8% year over year, down from 1.9% in June. The grocery and unprocessed food aggregate rose 1.0%, easing from 1.3% a month earlier.
Harmonised measure matches euro area rate
Italy’s harmonised consumer price index rose 2.9% year over year in July, down from 3.0% in June. The harmonised measure fell 1.0% from June because summer sales affect it but not the national index. That annual reading matched the preliminary harmonised estimate. Eurostat put euro area inflation at 2.9% in its July flash estimate, up from 2.8% in June. Italy’s harmonised annual rate therefore matched the preliminary rate for the currency bloc.
The final national index reached 103.4 in July, using 2025 as the base year at 100. The July data combined slower annual gains in several categories with faster increases in others. Non-regulated energy, unprocessed food and miscellaneous services slowed, while regulated energy and transport services accelerated. The national and harmonised measures both recorded 2.9% annual inflation. Their monthly readings differed because seasonal sales enter the harmonised index but not the national measure.