The rise in consumer prices in France stood at 5.9% year-on-year in April due to a jump in energy prices while those of food slowed, said Friday INSEE, confirming its first estimate. Inflation had reached 5.7% year-on-year in March.
Energy prices accelerated by 6.8% year-on-year (compared to 4.9% in March), driven in particular by gasoline prices. Gas prices slowed sharply year-on-year, rising 22.9% in April after 35.6% in March, the National Statistics Institute said.
Over one year, there was also an acceleration in the prices of services in April (+ 3.2% after 2.9% in March).
Food prices, on the other hand, rose less rapidly than in March, as food prices rose 15% year-on-year after reaching 15.9% the previous month.
Fresh produce pauses
Food inflation has become the main driver of inflation in 2023, supplanting energy. The slowdown in food price growth in April was mainly for fresh produce, the cost of which rose 10.6% year-on-year, after jumping more than 17.1% in March. Other food products grew by 15.8% year-on-year, almost the same pace as the previous month (15.7%).
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Prices for manufactured goods, such as clothing, furniture and small household appliances, also slowed slightly year-on-year, rising 4.6% year-on-year from 4.8% in March.
Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile items such as energy and some food products, and thus provides a basic trend in price developments, stood at 6.3% year-on-year in April, after 6.2% in March. The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), used for Europe-wide comparisons, stood at 6.9% year-on-year in April, down from 6.7% in March.