Is peak inflation finally behind us?
After reaching 6.3% in February over one year, inflation slowed to 5.6% in March, according to the first estimate from INSEE, published on Friday.
“
This fall in inflation is due to the slowdown in energy prices
,” explains INSEE.
On the other hand, food prices continued to accelerate, at +15.8% over one year after +14.8% in February.
This result is in line with the INSEE projections communicated last month.
In its latest economic report, the National Institute of Statistics estimated that the rise in consumer prices would remain on
a high "
plateau
" until February, before gradually declining from March, to fall back to 5%. in June.
“
This does not mean that the price level would drop, it means that overall, the price index would evolve less quickly than a year ago
”, underlined Julien Pouget, head of the business cycle department of the Insee.
For his part, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire is now counting on a decline in inflation "
around mid-2023
", when the governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, estimates that the peak of the inflation will be reached this first semester.