ROME, ITALY / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, Italy’s year-on-year consumer price growth slowed to 2.9% from 3.0% recorded in June. The final national figures released on Aug. 12 revealed consumer prices increased by 0.3% compared to June. Initially, at the end of July, preliminary data indicated an annual rate of 2.8%. As a result, the official figure exceeded the initial flash estimate by 0.1 percentage points. This month marked the second consecutive decrease in annual inflation, after reaching 3.2% in May.
Istat attributed the slowdown to reduced inflation in non-regulated energy costs, unprocessed food, and a variety of services. Specifically, non-regulated energy inflation decelerated to 11.4% from 13.3%. Unprocessed food prices increased by 3.6% compared to 4.4%. Meanwhile, inflation in miscellaneous services dropped to 1.8% from 2.5%. These decreases counterbalanced the rising inflation in regulated energy and several other service sectors.
Prices for regulated energy jumped 14.8% year over year, up from 9.2% in June. Transport-related services experienced a 1.6% increase, higher than June’s 1.1%. The costs for recreation, repair, and personal care services rose by 3.0%, compared to 2.7% in June. Goods inflation declined slightly to 3.2% from 3.3%, whereas services inflation increased marginally to 2.7% from 2.6%. Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, remained steady at 1.6% for the second consecutive month.
Energy and Food Costs Drive July Inflation Trends
Monthly fluctuations reflected similar patterns across categories. Regulated energy prices grew by 6.5% from June, while transport services went up by 1.4%. The costs for recreation, repair, and personal care services increased by 0.6%, with non-regulated energy prices climbing by 0.5%. Processed foods, including alcohol and housing-related services, each rose 0.3%. Conversely, unprocessed food prices fell by 1.3% compared to June. These changes resulted in the overall national index being 0.3% higher than in June.
Looking at broader consumption categories, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels saw a 7.2% rise from July 2025. Transport costs increased by 4.3%, with restaurant and accommodation services gaining 3.4%. Food and non-alcoholic beverages experienced a 1.4% increase, while clothing and footwear rose by 0.9%. The index excluding energy grew by 1.8% year over year, slightly down from 1.9% in June. The overall grocery and unprocessed food segment increased by 1.0%, easing from 1.3% the previous month.
The harmonised index aligns with euro area inflation at 2.9%
Italy’s harmonised consumer price index grew by 2.9% in July compared to the previous year, matching June’s figure of 3.0%. The harmonised measure fell by 1.0% from June due to seasonal sales, which influence this index but do not impact the national index. This final figure confirmed the initial harmonised estimate. According to Eurostat, the euro area’s inflation rate stood at 2.9% in its July flash estimate, up from 2.8% in June. Consequently, Italy’s harmonised annual rate was consistent with the preliminary rate for the entire currency bloc.
In July, the national index reached 103.4, with 2025 set as the base year at 100. The data reflected a combination of slower annual gains in several categories, such as non-regulated energy, unprocessed food, and miscellaneous services, alongside faster increases in regulated energy and transport services. Both the national and harmonised measures recorded an inflation rate of 2.9% annually. Their monthly figures diverged slightly because seasonal sales are factored into the harmonised index but not the national one.