----------------------------------------------------------------- ROME (AFX) - Preliminary consumer prices according to the NIC index, including tobacco prices, were up 0.3 pct in February from January and were up 3.0 pct from a year earlier, statistics bureau ISTAT said.
In January, NIC CPI including tobacco was up 0.4 pct from December and up 3.0 pct from a year earlier.
The preliminary harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), calculated to allow comparison with other EU members, was up 0.4 pct in February from January and up 2.7 pct from a year earlier. In January, they were up 0.1 pct from December and up 2.7 pct from a year earlier. ISTAT said the highest monthly rise in prices occured in the food and non-alcoholic beverage sector, up 0.9 pct, due to rises in the price of pork, chicken and other beef alternatives as a result of the BSE scandal.