PARIS – French inflation fell less than expected in January as it eased back from a 13-year high on lower prices for manufactured goods due to winter sales, preliminary EU-harmonised data showed on Tuesday.
The INSEE statistics agency said consumer prices rose 0.1% in January, giving a 12-month inflation rate of 3.3%, down from 3.4% in December. Economists polled by Reuters had on average forecast a rate of 3.0%.
While prices for manufactured goods fell, nearly all other prices were higher and energy prices were up 19.7% over one year following increases on global oil markets.
Not using the EU-agreed methodology to calculate inflation, INSEE said its consumer price index rose slightly to 2.9% from 2.8% in December, reaching its highest level since September 2008.
The national index is more closely followed in France, while the EU-harmonised index is used outside France in order to compare inflation rates among countries using the euro.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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