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Italy's inflation surges to highest levels since 1996

Wednesday, 23 February 2022 7:06 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 February 2022 7:06 AM ]

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Max Civili
Press TV, Rome

On Tuesday, the Italian bureau of statistics, ISTAT, announced Italy's inflation surged to 4.8% last month from 3.9% in December, and is now at its highest since 1996.

The statistical agency said its trolley index of everyday goods such as food and household items was up 3.2% with the Italians starting to buckle under the pressure.

Price rises, ISTAT explained, were driven by higher energy costs.

Tension keeps growing at the border of the EU and Russia, after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree recognizing breakaway Lugansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. Western leaders have vowed to impose severe sanctions over Moscow aimed at limiting Russia's ability to export oil and gas.

Italy's prime minister Mario Draghi has warned that any international sanctions targeting Russia’s energy industry would hit Italy badly. Unlike other EU major countries, Rome is very much gas-dependent, being the leading producer of electricity with this fuel in Europe.

Rome has historically relatively strong commercial and cultural ties with Moscow. In recent days, Italy had announced plans for the possibility of Draghi flying to the Russian capital for talks over the Ukraine crisis with Putin.

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