Italy's annual inflation hits 38-year peak in October

ANKARA

Italy’s annual inflation rate spiked to 11.9% in October, the highest in 38 years, according to preliminary data released on Friday.

The rate was well above the expected 9.6%, and marked a significant jump from September’s figure of 8.9%.

The “wide speed-up” was mainly due to higher prices of energy (73.2% vs 44.5% in September) and food, including alcohol, (13.1% vs 11.4%), the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said.

The core inflation rate rose to 5.3% from 5% in September.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices jumped 3.5%, the largest rise on record.​​​​​​​