France’s consumer price inflation eased in September to the lowest level in more than three years amid a fall in energy prices, a provisional estimate from the statistical office INSEE showed.
A separate official report showed that producer prices increased for the second straight month in August.
The consumer price index climbed 1.2 percent year-over-year in September, slower than the 1.8 percent rise in the previous month. Economists had expected inflation to ease to 1.6 percent.
This sharp decrease in inflation should be firstly explained by a fall in the prices of energy, particularly those of petroleum products, the agency said.
Energy prices fell 3.3 percent annually in September, versus a 0.4 percent rise in August. Meanwhile, food inflation held steady at 0.5 percent, and prices for manufactured products dropped by 0.3 percent. Inflation based on services moderated to 2.5 percent from 3.0 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 1.2 percent in September, reversing a 0.5 percent rise in August.
EU-harmonised inflation also softened to 1.5 percent from 2.2 percent in the prior month. Monthly, the HICP showed a decrease of 1.2 percent.
Household consumption in France rose at a steady rate of 0.2 percent monthly in August versus an expected fall of 0.1 percent. This slight increase was driven by an acceleration in food consumption by 0.8 percent.
In a separate report, the statistical office revealed that industrial producer prices in the home market rose 0.2 percent month-on-month in August, slightly slower than the 0.3 percent increase in the previous month.
The upward trend in August was attributed to a 2.1 percent rise in prices for mining, energy, and water products. On the other hand, the prices of manufactured products dropped by 0.4 percent.
On an annual basis, the decline in producer prices deepened somewhat to 6.3 percent from 5.7 percent in July.
Source: RTT NEWS
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