French inflation dips in January

PARIS - Agence Frence-Presse

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits a grocery store in Annecy last week. ABACAPRESS Photo

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits a grocery store in Annecy last week.

Consumer prices in France slid 0.4 percent in January compared to a month earlier and rose 2.3 percent on a 12-month basis, official data said yesterday.

The drop was due mostly to a fall in prices for manufactured goods brought on by winter sales and offset high energy prices, the INSEE statistics agency said.

Corrected for seasonal variations, INSEE said prices in January actually rose by 0.2 percent from December and by 2.4 percent on a 12-month basis.

The agency said service prices were stable in January due mainly to the low tourist season.

Manufactured goods prices fell by 1.9 percent in January from December, but rose by 0.6 percent from the same period in 2011.

Energy prices rose by 2.4 percent month-on-month and 7.9 percent from January 2011 with gas increasing by 9.5 percent in a year.

Food prices only rose negligibly in January by 0.1 percent from December, 3.5 percent for the year, INSEE said.