Rome, March 17 (LaPresse) – In February 2025, the national consumer price index increased by 0.2% compared to January 2025 and by 1.6% compared to February 2024 (from +1.5% the previous month); the preliminary estimate was +1.7%. This was announced by Istat. The general index's trend, Istat notes, is influenced by the acceleration in the prices of regulated energy goods (from +27.5% to +31.4%), the significant reduction in the decline of non-regulated energy goods (from -3.0% to -1.9%), and the increased pace of price growth for unprocessed food goods (from +2.2% to +2.9%) and processed food goods (from +1.7% to +1.9%). In contrast, there is a slowdown in the prices of transportation services (from +2.5% to +1.9%), communication services (from +1.1% to +0.5%), and recreational, cultural, and personal care services (from +3.3% to +3.0%). In February, "core inflation," excluding energy and fresh food, decreased, as did inflation excluding only energy goods (both trend variations dropped from +1.8% to +1.7%).