French preliminary inflation eases more than expected in September

By Dagmarah Mackos

(Reuters) -French consumer prices rose less than anticipated in September, aided by a sharp decline in energy costs, and petroleum products in particular, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Friday.

France’s harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other eurozone countries, increased 1.5% year-on-year in September, down from 2.2% in August and below the average rise of 2.0% expected by economists surveyed by Reuters.

Service prices rose 2.5% year-on-year, slowing down from 3.0% in August, while prices of manufactured goods declined slightly faster than in the prior month, the agency reported.

Food and tobacco price inflation held steady, rising at the same rate as last month, INSEE said.

Compared to August numbers, consumer prices dropped significantly due to lower energy prices along with seasonal cuts in transport and accommodation costs, the return of normal tariffs after the Olympics and lower healthcare prices, marking the steepest monthly decline since 1990, it said.

Inflation measured by France’s own consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2% over the year through September, down from 1.8% reported in August.