Italy's consumer price inflation eased more than initially estimated in February, final data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Thursday.
The consumer price index climbed 9.1 percent year-on-year in February, slower than the 10.0 percent surge in January. In the flash report, the rate of inflation was 9.2 percent.
According to the agency, a slowdown in energy prices was primarily responsible for the decrease in inflation.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, climbed to 6.3 percent from 6.0 percent. The rate was revised down slightly from the initial estimate of 6.4 percent published on March 2.
Prices of non-regulated energy products grew at a slower pace of 40.8 percent annually in February, after a 59.3 percent jump a month ago.
The decline in prices of regulated energy products was more intense in February, falling 16.4 percent versus 12.0 percent in January.
At the same time, the annual price growth of processed food, including alcohol, accelerated to 15.5 percent from 14.9 percent, and that of unprocessed food rose slightly to 8.7 percent from 8.0 percent.
Compared to the previous month, the CPI edged up 0.2 percent in February, revised down from a 0.3 percent gain.
The Italian harmonised index of consumer prices, or HICP, also rose at a slower pace of 9.8 percent year-on-year in February following a 10.7 percent increase in the prior month. The latest growth rate was revised down from 9.9 percent.
The EU measure of inflation rose 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in the middle of the first quarter. In the previous report, there was an increase of 0.2 percent.
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