French Inflation Eases Unexpectedly To 0.7%, Lowest In Over 4 Years

(RTTNews) - France's consumer price inflation moderated slightly in May to the lowest level in more than four years amid a slowdown in costs for services and a continued fall in energy prices, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index rose 0.7 percent on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 0.8 percent stable increase seen in April. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to rise to 0.9 percent.

Further this was the lowest inflation rate since February 2021, when prices had risen 0.6 percent.

Energy prices fell sharply by 8.1 percent in May compared to last year, and inflation based on services eased to 2.1 percent from 2.4 percent. Meanwhile, food inflation rose slightly to 1.3 percent from 1.2 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.1 percent in May, reversing a 0.6 percent increase a month ago.

EU-harmonized inflation also slowed to 0.6 percent from 0.9 percent in the prior month. Monthly, the HICP edged down 0.2 percent versus an increase of 0.7 percent in April.