Italy's annual inflation climbed to 1.8 percent in April from 1.4 percent in March - the highest level since February 2013, preliminary estimates issued by the central statistics agency Istat showed on Friday.
April's annual inflation hike was mainly driven by a sharp increase in electricity, gas and transport prices, Istat said.
Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in April, chiefly due to a hike in the cost of transport and recreation, especially over the Easter period and the 25 April bank holiday, Istat reported.
Core inflation (net of fresh food and energy) was running at 1.0 percent year-on-year according to the main domestic price index in April, up from 0.7 percent in March, Istat reported.
Italian consumer prices fell in 2016, the first year of deflation since 1959, according to figures issued by Istat in early January.
