Italy's annual rate of inflation was confirmed at 2.0 per cent in October, the lowest level in five years, according to figures published Monday by the national statistics institute Istat. Istat's final figures for the headline NIC index were in line with preliminary estimates issued by Istat on October 29th and showed that consumer prices had not changed from September. The agency said the slowdown in inflation, which has been falling steadily since June's peak of 2.4 per cent, was mostly due to a cooling of prices in the food sector. Inflation, as measured by an index harmonized across the European Union, was up 0.3 per cent in October from September and up 2.1 per cent when compared to the same month last year.
