ROME, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Italy's economy grew faster and prices rose slower than in the previous reporting period, according to preliminary economic data from the government's main statistics entity released Tuesday.
ISTAT, Italy's National Statistics Institute, said that the economy grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, stronger than the 0.1 percent economic growth rate recorded in the final three months of last year.
ISTAT noted that the first three months of the year represented the third consecutive quarter of positive growth following an economic contraction in the second quarter of last year.
Additionally, ISTAT said that prices were 0.9 percent higher in April than a year earlier, down from a 1.2 percent increase from a month earlier. The country's consumer price index was 0.2 percent higher in April on a month-by-month basis, ISTAT said.
Both indicators are positive signs for the economy, according to ISTAT.
ISTAT said the main factors behind the slowdown in inflation in Italy were unregulated energy prices, which declined by 13.9 percent in April compared to a year earlier and up from a 10.3-percent decline in March, and transportation services, which saw prices rise by 2.9 percent compared to 4.5 percent the previous month. ■
