-- As expected, Italy's annual inflation rate rose to 1.7% in March from 1.5% in February, final data from statistics agency Istat showed Thursday.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices were up 0.5%, in line with the flash figure, against the prior 0.7% gain.
The Italian harmonized inflation rate stood at 1.6% on an annual basis, compared with the preliminary and previous 1.5%. Month over month, harmonized consumer prices were 1.7% higher, against the initial estimate of a 1.6% increase and the 0.5% rise earlier.