Low inflation benefits poorer households in 2014, Istat says

(ANSA) - Rome, January 23 - Overall inflation went from +1.3% in 2013 to +0.2% in 2014, benefiting households with lower spending capacity, Italian statistics bureau Istat said on Friday in its Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) report.
    The report divides households into five spending classes, and said slowing inflation was "more marked" in the lowest spending class (from +1.3% in 2013 to zero in 2014) compared to those with higher purchasing power (from +1.2% in 2013 to +0.4% in 2014).
    Istat said that in 2014, price decreases affected fuel and food most, two categories which have a "more than double" impact on households with lower spending when compared to the impact on those with higher spending.