Price increases slowed for the second month in a row in France, posting 4.5% year on year in June after 5.9% in April and 5.1% in May, INSEE said on Friday. in a first estimate. For the first time since April 2022, the indicator therefore fell below 5%, thanks to a slowdown in the rise in food prices and a 3% drop over one year in energy prices, details the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies in its press release.
The fall in energy prices, if confirmed by INSEE in its final estimate of inflation expected in mid-July, is a small event after more than two years of continuous rise. The last decline in prices in this area dates from March 2021, well before the surge in prices linked first to the post-Covid economic recovery and then to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Food prices continued to soar in June (13.6% year-on-year), but their growth slowed compared to May (14.3% year-on-year). Fresh food products nevertheless rose faster than in May (11.1% after 10.7% in May). The increase in the cost of services (2.9%) and manufactured goods (4.3%) took place in June at a virtually unchanged pace compared to May. Tobacco prices (9.8%) continue exactly the same upward momentum as the previous month (9.8%).
Over one month, the consumer price index increased by 0.2%, according to INSEE, after falling by 0.1% between April and May. A reference indicator for comparisons between European countries, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose by 5.3% over one year, after rising by 6% in May.
