Negative inflation in Sep too, -0.6%

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 16 - Italy posted negative inflation for the fifth straight month in September with the retail price index 0.6% down over the year, ISTAT said.
    It was down 0.7% month on month, the stats agency said.
    Annual inflation was -0.5% in August.
    ISTAT's final, definitive figure for September was 0.1% down on its preliminary estimate, which had been -0.5%.
    The city with the highest inflation was Bolzano, with a rise of 0.8% in prices.
    The city with the lowest inflation was Milan with -1.6%.
    Inflation in Palermo was -0.7%, reflecting the trend in most big Italian cities.
    Farm group Coldiretti said fruit prices saw a record rise of 10% in September.
    The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its Italy GDP forecast for 2020 to -10.6%, from June's -12.8%.
    That is an improvement of 2.2 percentage points.
    But the IMF cut its Italian growth forecast for next year.
    GDP is now expected to rise 5.2% in 2021, 1.1 percentage points lower than the 6.3% forecast in June.
    The Italian government, in the latest update to its DEF economic blueprint, sees GDP falling 9% this year and rebounding by 6% next.
    The Italian economy has taken an unprecedented hit from COVID-19, like other leading world economies. (ANSA).