Rome, Jan 6 (IANS): Prices in Italy rose 8.1 per cent year-on-year in 2022, the highest since a 9.2 per cent annual increase in 1985 when the country still used the lira currency, the government's statistics office said

In December, prices were 11.6 per cent higher than in the same month in 2021, and down from 11.8 per cent in November, reports Xinhua news agency.

It was still the third highest one-month rate recorded since the introduction of the euro currency in 1999.

The seven highest monthly inflation rates recorded in Italy since 1999 have all been in the last seven months, according to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

High energy prices have been responsible for the bulk of those increases, pushed higher by the energy supply challenges caused by the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

The 8.1 per cent annual inflation rate includes data from the early part of the year when inflation was still low.

In contrast, prices rose just 1.9 per cent in 2021 compared to the previous year.