Italy’s inflation rate unexpectedly remained at a six-month high in April amid higher energy costs and tax increases passed as part of Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity program. The inflation rate based on European Union measurements was unchanged at 3.8 percent, Rome-based national statistics office Istat said in a preliminary report today. That was more than the median forecast of 3.6 percent by 12 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Prices rose 0.9 percent from March, Istat said. Italy’s consumer confidence plunged this month to the lowest since 1996 as Monti’s austerity measures deepened the recession ... (full story)