INFLATION RISES AGAIN IN OCTOBER

INFLATION RISES AGAIN IN OCTOBER

(ANSA) - Rome, October 30 - Italy's year-on-year inflation rate rose for the third month in a row in October after leveling out at zero in July, national statistics bureau Istat reported on Friday.

Compared to October 2008, Istat said, prices rose 0.3%, up from 0.2% in September, while the consumer price index in one month inched up 0.1%, falling 0.2% in September over August.

Should current trends continue for the rest of the year, Istat added, Italy would have an annual inflation rate of 0.7% for 2009.

Despite a surge in the latter part of the month, prices at the pumps for motorists fell 2.78% over the previous month and 9% over October 2008.

Overall prices for fuels were down 1.3% for the month and 11.2% for the year.

Helping to push inflation up this past month was a 1% hike in prices in the education sector over September, which drove the year-on-year increase to 2.4%.

University costs climbed a steep 3.4% compared to both this September and last October.

Clothes prices rose 0.4% over September and 1.2% over October 2008.

Transport sector prices as a whole fell 0.3% over September but rose 2.2% for the year with rail prices rising 0.1% over September and 5.3% over October of last year, while air transport prices were up 1.3% for the month but sank 14.5% for the year.