Feb 27 (Reuters) – French consumer prices rose more than expected in February, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Friday, a sign of acceleration after they slowed to their lowest in more than five years in January.
France’s harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 1.1% year-on-year in February. A Reuters poll of 14 analysts had expected a median rate of 0.7%, with estimates ranging from 0.6% to 1.2%.
The euro zone harmonised prices rose 0.4% in January, their lowest rate since December 2020.
The February increase was partly due to a lower than anticipated decline in energy prices, INSEE said. France introduced in February 2025 an average reduction of 15% in regulated electricity tariffs for low-volume consumers.
A slowing decline in the prices of manufactured goods and an acceleration in price increases for food, services and tobacco also weighed, the preliminary data showed.
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Vera Dvorakova, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)