Consumer prices in France increased by 0.9% in June over a year, a slight acceleration compared to May in annual sliding (0.7%), fired by the services, the INSEE announced on Friday in a provisional estimate.
“This increase in inflation would be explained by the acceleration of services prices, including those of accommodation, health and transport, as well as by a lower drop in energy prices and, to a lesser extent, by the very slight acceleration of those of food”, detailed the National Institute of Statistics in a press release.
Over a month, inflation reached 0.3% in June, after a price fall in 0.1% in May, driven by services prices, and a rebound in petroleum products.
The harmonized consumer price index (IPCH), which allows the comparison between European countries, is up 0.8 % in June in annual sliding, after +0.6 % in May.
The very clear slowdown in prices, in France and throughout the euro zone, has enabled the European Central Bank (ECB) to lower its rates in June in a row in one year, passing the deposit rate to 2%.
The governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, estimated on Friday that the increase in prices at 0.9% in June “shows that inflation remains very well mastered in France”.
“This is obviously an encouraging figure for the Central Bank” and it is “good news for our fellow citizens obviously very sensitive to controlling inflation”, he stressed during a conference at the Banque de France.
The latter provides inflation (IPCH) of 1.0% on average in 2025.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, the governor had indicated that the evolution of oil prices linked to the situation in the Middle East could lead the ECB to raise or lower its rates in the coming months.
