The consumer price fever: in August +3,3%. Shopping basket stalled
The consumer price fever: in August +3,3%. Shopping basket stalled
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August with hot prices. The surge in oil prices turbocharges consumer prices, but, against all forecasts, the shopping basket remains unchanged.
According to preliminary estimates by Istat, in August the national consumer price index (including all products and services) recorded a change of +3,3% year-on-year, from +2,9% in the previous month.
The sharp acceleration was mainly due to the trend in the prices of regulated energy products, which rose from +14,8% to +18,8%.
Shopping trolley freeze
By contrast, prices in the shopping trolley (food and products for household and personal care) were surprisingly unchanged: +1% year-on-year. In fact, in the case of the Russian gas crisis that began in February 2022, in May the rally in shopping trolley prices had reached +6,7%.
Italian inflation is nevertheless perfectly aligned with the average for theEurozone: +3,3% compared with 2,9% in July. In Germany it stood at 2,9% and in France at 2,4%. In Spain it rose to a peak of: +4,3%.
As regards consumer confidence, in August Istat reported a positive development: the index rose from 94,2 to 94,5. Consumers also reported an improvement in the economic climate (from 90,9 to 92,3) while the current climate and the future climate recorded more modest increases (respectively from 97,4 to 97,8 and from 89,8 to 90,2).
Situation under control
According to Mariano Bella, director of Confcommercio’s research office, "the increase recorded in August on the price front was partly expected, in view of the usual seasonal rises. Excluding these dynamics, the situation, also considering the euro area as a whole, still appears to be under control, with underlying inflation remaining at contained levels, in line with monetary policy targets".
Bella then concludes: "With inflation flaring up again, there is a risk that households, despite the continued stability of the labour market, with employment remaining at historically high levels even in July, may interrupt the process of gradual recovery in demand that supported growth in the first half of the year".
Large-scale retail, anti-inflation measures
For his part, Carlo Alberto Buttarelli, president of Federdistribuzione, stresses that “in this context, it should be highlighted that modern retail companies carry out careful monitoring of price trends, countering pressure for increases not justified by higher costs. This is a responsibility that the sector has demonstrated with determination in recent years and which has helped to keep Italian food inflation at more contained levels than those recorded in many other major European countries”.
Other articles:
Prices: in July, the oil price fever does not enter the shopping trolley (+1,3%)
Istat: in 2025 average prices in the shopping trolley at +2,4%, food products at +3%
This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.
