Milan, Aug 20 - Italy's market watchdog Consob is monitoring share price movements in dairy group Parmalat, a source at the regulator said on Wednesday confirming a report in an Italian newspaper.
"A monitoring is ongoing, as it is always the case when movements diverge from standard ones," the source said.
Since the beginning of August, shares in Parmalat have gained 15.7 percent against a 0.3 fall in Milan's leading S&P/MIB share index, according to Reuters data.
Business daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday Consob was monitoring the stock after reports about a possible bid for the food group had pushed up the stock in the last month.
The Italian press has speculated in past weeks that private equity firms would bid for Parmalat.