France: Inflation slows in January from the prior month
Latest reading: Harmonized consumer prices increased 0.4% on a year-on-year basis in January, following a 0.7% increase in the previous month. January’s reading was the weakest since December 2020.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, there were milder price pressures for transportation (-0.8% on a year-on-year basis vs -0.2% in December), housing and utilities (-1.5% vs -1.2% in December) and recreation (+0.7% vs +0.8% in December). In contrast, there were more notable price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.0% vs +1.8% in December) and restaurants and hotels (+2.4% vs +2.0% in December).
Meanwhile, consumer prices increased 0.3% in annual terms in January, following a 0.8% increase in the previous month.
Finally, harmonized consumer prices declined 0.41% in January in month-on-month terms, following a 0.08% rise in the prior month.