France consumer prices increased by 0.1% in March

According to the report from Insee, in March 2020, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.1% over a month, after a stability in the previous month. Experts expected prices to remain unchanged.

Manufactured product prices accelerated (+1.4% after +0.2%), due to the end of winter sales in February. Tobacco prices increased by 6.6%, because of a tax increase. Contrariwise, the drop in energy prices was sharper (−3.9% after −2.0%), in the wake of petroleum product prices. Services prices fell by 0.2% after +0.2% in February. Finally, food prices edged down by 0.1%, after a stability in the previous month. Seasonally adjusted, consumer prices fell by 0.6% in March, after −0.1% in February.

Year on year, consumer prices sharply slowed down, to +0.7%, after +1.4% in February. Economists had expected a 0.6% increase. The strong drop in inflation came from a sharp downturn in the prices of energy and manufactured products and a slowdown in services and tobacco prices. Food prices rose, year on year, barely more than in February.

Year on year, core inflation sharply fell in March: +0.7% after +1.3% in the previous month. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by 0.1% over a month, after a stability in February; year on year, it strongly slowed down, to +0.8%, after +1.6% in the previous month.