Italy's inflation rate drops to 5.9 pct in July

ROME, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Italy stood at 5.9 percent in July, down from 6.4 percent reported in June, the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said Thursday.

In July, prices for transportation services, non-regulated energy goods, and processed food - all key parts of the inflation calculus - have shown a "deceleration", ISTAT said.

According to the institute, the growth rate for transportation-related services slowed to 2.4 percent in July from 4.7 percent a month earlier, while prices for non-regulated energy services grew 7.0 percent in July compared to 8.4 percent in June, and by 10.5 percent for processed food, down from 11.5 percent the previous month.

Italy has criticized the European Central Bank's (ECB) strategy of reining in high inflation by raising its baseline interest rate continuously, saying the policy acts as a drag on economic growth.

Italy has seen negative growth in two of the last three quarters, with its economy contracting by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, with 0.6 percent growth in the intermediate first quarter of the year.