Sept 30 (Reuters) - Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP) rose 1.8 percent in September from the month before but were down 0.2 from the year earlier, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, adding to concerns about deflation.
The HICP reading exactly matched the median forecast in a Reuters survey of 18 analysts and marked the second straight month of falling prices on an annual basis. The 0.2 percent drop was identical to August's result.
ISTAT also reported that the main domestic price index (NIC) fell a preliminary 0.3 percent on the month, and declined 0.1 percent annually.
The monthly jump in the EU harmonised index was due to the rebound in clothes prices following summer discount sales. The NIC index excludes items affected by seasonal discounts.
Core inflation (net of fresh food and energy) was running at +0.5 percent y/y on the NIC index in September, stable at August's rate. No core inflation data is available for the HICP.
(Gavin Jones, Rome newsroom +39 06 8522 4350, gavin.jones@thomsonreuters.com)