Inflation at 4.8%, never higher in 26 years

In January, the high cost of living was increasingly felt, at the top for 26 years, that is, since April 1996.

According to preliminary Istat estimates, last month the national consumer price index for the entire community, before tobacco, recorded an increase of 1.6% on a monthly basis and of 4.8% on annual basis (from + 3.9% the previous month).

Regulated energy goods continue to drive the sting, with an annual growth never recorded (+ 38.6%), but growing inflationary tensions are also manifested in other product sectors.

Meanwhile, the Istat basket changes to calculate inflation, with the impact of the pandemic making itself felt on the purchasing trends of Italians. Among the representative products of the evolution in household spending habits and regulatory changes, this year the PC chair, the air fryer, the oximeter, individual psychotherapy, the serological, molecular and rapid test for Covid-19 enter. , the poke take away. streaming music. Among the products that represent consolidated consumption, natural gas was introduced on the free market and reading glasses without a prescription. Instead, compact disks and hoverboards come out.

The news of 2022, with reference to both the weights and the basket, explained the national statistical institute, "reflect the constant evolution of household spending behaviors but also the impact of events, such as the pandemic still underway, which they condition purchasing decisions and the structure of consumer spending ".

(Unioneonline / F)