Consumer prices in France, harmonised with European Union standards, increased by 1.9% in March in annual terms, according to the report of the National Statistics Office Insee, which presented preliminary data.
The dynamics of the indicator coincided with the consensus forecast of analysts, cited by Trading Economics.
Thus, inflation in France accelerated from 1.1% in February and became the highest since August 2024.
The sharp rise in inflation is mainly due to higher energy prices due to the war in the Middle East. They rose 7.3 per cent in March, according to preliminary data, after falling 2.9 per cent in February.
Meanwhile, the growth in the cost of food slowed to 1.8% from 2%, services – accelerated to 1.7% from 1.6% a month earlier. Industrial goods fell in price by 0.6% in March (-0.2% a month earlier).
Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in France jumped by 1.1%. In February, they rose by 0.7% month-on-month.
French-standardised prices rose 1.7% year-on-year and 0.9% month-on-month in March. In February, the annual rate rose by 0.9% and 0.6% month-on-month.