Dpfp, Istat: «Purchasing power of families drops by 0.9% in the second quarter of 2026»

«In the second quarter of 2026 the disposable income of consumer families increased by 0.4% compared to the previous quarter. The growth in consumption equal to 1.7% was thus associated with a reduction in the propensity to save of consumer families, which decreased in the quarter by 1.2 percentage points, reaching 6.7%. Against a 1.4% increase in the implicit consumption deflator, the purchasing power of families recorded a reduction on a cyclical basis of 0.9%".

Francesco Maria Chelli, president of Istat, said this in a hearing before the House and Senate Budget Committees on the 2026 Dpfp. «The estimate of the average monthly expenditure of families residing in Italy stands at 2,782 euros in current values, substantially unchanged compared to the 2,755 euros of 2024 (+1.0%). 29.4% of families declared that they had limited their spending on food compared to the previous year, reducing the quantity or quality of the products purchased, a percentage down compared to 31.1% in 2024. Taking into account the price trend, the ratio between the total equivalent expenditure of families in the last fifth and that of families in the first fifth stands at 5.0, slightly decreasing compared to 5.1 in 2024", he added.