Rome, Oct 29 (IANS): Prices in Italy jumped by 11.9 per cent in October compared to the same month a year ago, the highest in nearly four decades, according to provisional data released by the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT).

The figure was 3 percentage points above the then-record 8.9-per cent of annual inflation in September, and it was the highest since 1983 in Italy, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was also the first time that the country's inflation experienced double digits since Italy's adoption of the euro currency in 1999.

The main driver behind the price increase was the rising energy costs sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war, ISTAT said on Friday.

But even the "core" inflation rate -- which excludes energy and food costs given their susceptibility to international market forces -- rose by 5.3 per cent in October.

Costs for services less susceptible to energy-related factors were still higher in October, up 3.7 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Local media reports said that the record-setting inflation rate helped to illustrate the tough economic climate that the newly-installed government, led by Giorgia Meloni, is facing.

Meloni, who was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday, has vowed to curb energy prices and overall inflation in the coming months.

"It is mostly energy goods, whether regulated or unregulated, that explain the extraordinary acceleration of inflation," ISTAT said in a statement.

"Prices for food goods also continued to accelerate to paint a picture of inflationary pressures that ran through almost all product sectors; only recreational, cultural, and personal care sectors are withstanding the trend," it added.