Italy's inflation hits 6.8%, highest level since 1990

Rome, June 17 (IANS) Italy's consumer price index climbed a record-setting 6.8 per cent year-on-year in May, the highest since 1990, data published by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) revealed.

The war in Ukraine and a slowdown in international trade have both contributed to the upward trend in prices, Xinhua news agency quoted ISTAT as saying.

Thursday's price data was slightly below the preliminary estimate of 6.9 per cent.

However, it was still the highest year-on-year price hike in Italy since the creation of the euro currency, as well as the steepest climb since 1990.

The monthly inflation rate in May was 0.8 per cent, ISTAT said.

Energy goods caused the biggest price hikes, increasing by 42.6 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Prices for general goods increased by 9.7 per cent in May, mostly due to an increase in manufacturing and transport costs, while prices of services climbed 3.1 per cent.