French Inflation Rises To 2.1%

(RTTNews) - French inflation accelerated in July due to higher prices of energy and services, preliminary estimate from the statistical office INSEE revealed Friday.

Consumer price inflation accelerated to 2.1 percent in July from 1.8 percent in June. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 1.8 percent.

Likewise, inflation based on the harmonized index of consumer prices, advanced more-than-expected to 2.4 percent from 2.0 percent in June. The index was expected to climb 2.1 percent.

The rise in inflation reflects acceleration in service prices, particularly those of accommodation services and communication services, and energy prices.

Services inflation moved up to 2.3 percent from 1.9 percent and the increase in energy prices rose to 12.4 percent from 11.0 percent. At the same time, growth in food prices held steady at 0.9 percent, while manufactured product prices dropped 0.7 percent.

Month-on-month, consumer prices rebounded 0.6 percent following a 0.3 percent fall in June. The HICP also grew 0.6 percent, partially offsetting the 0.3 percent drop in the previous month.

Another data from the statistical office INSEE showed that producer prices in the domestic market grew at a slower pace of 2.6 percent year-on-year in June, following May's 3.1 percent increase.

On a monthly basis, the decline in producer prices intensified to 0.6 percent from 0.2 percent in May.