September 2026 inflation at 4.2%, increases in energy and food prices

Inflation will accelerate again in September 2026. According to preliminary estimates from Istat, the national consumer price index for the entire community, including tobacco, increased by 0.7% compared to August and by 4.2% on an annual basis, against the +3.3% recorded in the previous month. This surge is due to the rise in prices of energy goods and unprocessed food products.

Even the so-called “shopping cart”, which includes food, home care products and personal hygiene products, recorded an acceleration: the trend growth went from +0.9% in August to +1.7% in September.

Energy, prices rise over 22%

The component that has the greatest impact is the energy one. Overall, the prices of energy goods increased by 22.3% compared to September 2025, after the +17.1% recorded in August. On a monthly basis, the increase is 4.5%. The growth concerns both regulated and unregulated energy sectors:

• regulated energy went from +18.6% to +25.9% on an annual basis;
• unregulated energy sources increase from +17% to +22.2%;
• city ​​gas and natural gas in the protected market rise by 47.2% on an annual basis;
• diesel for transport vehicles recorded an increase of 34.9%;
• heating oil grows by 38.5%;
• petrol increases by 21.8%;
• natural gas on the free market rises by 16.7%;
• electricity on the free market recorded an increase of 21.5%.

Strong growth in unprocessed foods

Inflation in the food sector also accelerates in September. Overall, food prices increased 1.8% year-on-year, accelerating from August’s +1%. The increase is entirely due to unprocessed products, i.e. fresh and unprocessed products, which went from +3.8% to +5.5%.

Among the most dynamic voices are:

• vegetables, tubers, bananas and legumes, up 8.4% compared to a year earlier;
• fruit and nuts, which return to positive territory, from -1.7% to +0.6%;
• unprocessed foods, which also grew by 2.2% compared to August.

On the contrary, processed food prices remain slightly below the levels of the previous year, with a change of -0.3%. On a monthly basis, processed food products decreased by 0.3%, while unprocessed food products increased by 2.2%.

Unc: “Hot prices, hot autumn has arrived”

The acceleration of inflation was expected according to Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union. Commenting on the Istat data on September inflation, Dona states:

The Government’s failure to intervene to contain the high bills of families and businesses and the hot blanket used against the high cost of fuel have produced their harmful effects, increasingly inflaming the inflationary spiral which is increasingly getting out of control, turning into a blow for both the less well-off classes and for the increasingly difficult middle class” he states

According to UNC estimates, with inflation at 4.2% an average family has to deal with an increase in spending of 1,108 euros on an annual basis. For a couple with two children, the highest annual expense reaches 1,516 euros, of which 480 euros attributable to housing and 504 euros to transport. For a couple with a child, however, the increase in annual expenditure is 1,414 euros.