France’s consumer price inflation accelerated to its highest level since mid-2024 in April, driven largely by a sharp rise in energy costs, final data from INSEE showed on Wednesday.
Annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.2% in April, in line with the preliminary estimate and up from 1.7% in March. This marked the fastest pace since July 2024, when inflation stood at 2.3%.
Harmonized inflation, measured by the EU-comparable index, climbed to 2.5% from 2% a month earlier, confirming the flash reading published on April 30.
Energy prices were the main driver, with petroleum costs surging 31.4% year-on-year. Services inflation edged up to 1.8% from 1.7%.
By contrast, food price growth slowed to 1.2% from 1.8%, while prices for manufactured goods declined by 0.6%.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, ticked up slightly to 1.2% from 1.1% in March.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.0% in April, unchanged from March. The harmonized index increased 1.2%, slightly faster than the previous month’s 1.1% rise. Both readings were in line with earlier estimates.
