Annual inflation in Italy reached 1.5% in EU-harmonized terms in September, lower than the preliminary estimate of a 1.6% gain and following a 1.6% rise in August, final data from the country's National Institute of Statistics showed.

Harmonized core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food prices, came in at 0.7% year over year in September, after a 0.8% increase in the prior month.

Food, alcohol and tobacco prices climbed 1.8% year over year after a 2.3% increase in August, while energy prices rose 7.6%, unchanged from the previous month.

Month over month, harmonized consumer prices were up 1.7% in September, lower than the preliminary estimate of a 1.8% rise and following a 0.2% dip in August.

Nonharmonized consumer prices rose 1.4% from September 2017 and declined 0.5% from August 2018.