ROME, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Italy's annual inflation rate dropped to 5.3 percent in September from 5.4 percent a month earlier, according to preliminary data published by the country's National Statistical Office (ISTAT) on Friday.

This was the ninth time in 10 months that the key indicator either fell or remained flat.

In the same period, the inflation rate was 4.3 percent in the 20-member eurozone.

This Sunday, the first day of the final economic quarter of 2023, Italy's government is set to launch the "anti-inflation quarter."

The anti-inflation measures will artificially reduce the prices of shopping basket staples for the final three months of the year. Critics have called the measure a form of market manipulation.

According to ISTAT, the "slight deceleration" in prices in September was due to a slowdown in the increase in the prices paid for unprocessed food, processed food and durable goods. But energy prices and prices for transportation grew, reversing a recent declining trend.

ISTAT said that the "core inflation" rate -- a measure of prices excluding energy and fresh food from the formula -- declined mildly in September to 4.6 percent from 4.8 percent in August. Enditem

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