Friday’s data showed that inflation in France unexpectedly slowed for the second consecutive month in September, deviating from the trend in its neighbor Germany and the broader euro zone, supported by a slowdown in the rise in energy and services prices.
France’s annual inflation rate fell to 6.2 percent in September from 6.6 percent a month earlier, the National Institute of Statistics said, contradicting the median forecast of economists in a Archyde.com poll for a slight acceleration to 6.7 percent.
Inflation peaked in July at 6.8 percent in the eurozone’s second-largest economy, which is doing better than its neighbors in taming price hikes, despite some economists warning that France’s massive spending on comprehensive family protection programs does not solve the problem.
“Low inflation in September is certainly good news, although it is too early to declare victory, as pressure in the energy sector is expected to intensify in the coming months,” said Diego Escaro, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s Market Intelligence.
Data published on Friday showed that inflation in the euro zone exceeded expectations and reached a new record high of 10 percent in September, reinforcing expectations of another massive interest rate hike by the European Central Bank in October.
German inflation reached 10.9 percent in September, the highest level in more than a quarter of a century, while consumer prices in the Netherlands jumped 17 percent, the highest level in decades, due to the sharp increase in energy prices.
A detailed look at the French data shows that the decline in the headline inflation rate is primarily due to weak energy price inflation, which hit a one-year low of 17.9 percent.
On the other hand, France’s National Institute of Statistics said Friday that consumer spending was unchanged in August following declining in July.
(Archyde.com)
© 2024 All rights reserved