The increase in consumer prices stood at 4.9% year-on-year in September, a stable rate compared to August, according to a first estimate published Friday September 29 by the National Institute of Statistics (Insee).
Food prices, which had been the main driver of inflation for several months, have calmed down. They certainly continued to progress in September (+9.6%), but their increase recorded a clear slowdown, while they had soared by 11.2% over one year in August. The decline is particularly marked for fresh products, which increased by 4.1% year-on-year in September after increasing by 9.4% in August. The increase in services (+2.8% year-on-year in September) and in manufactured products (+2.9%) was also less rapid.
Conversely, energy prices, which had fueled the inflationary shock after the invasion of Ukraine, before calming down, started to rise sharply again. They increased by 11.5% over one year, a rebound mainly attributable to the rise in the price of oil, which is reflected at the pump. Energy prices represent less than 10% of the consumption basket taken into account by INSEE for the calculation of the consumer price index, where food represents around 16%, and services (accommodation and transport, in particular), more than half.
Putting businesses to work
The French government, which says it makes inflation its main “fight”, has decided to grant a new check of 100 euros for low-income workers using their vehicle. But the executive also wants to involve businesses, constrained by reduced budgetary room for maneuver at a time when it wants to reduce France’s heavy debt.
The country’s public debt fell to 111.8% of gross domestic product in the second quarter, compared to 112.5% in the previous quarter, however remaining above the symbolic threshold of 3,000 billion euros, according to INSEE .
The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, declared Thursday that he would ensure that the margins of agri-food manufacturers remained “reasonable”, while a bill aims to advance the commercial negotiations of the latter with distributors to try to pass on more quickly the slowdown in the rise in prices in stores. Put under pressure, the fuel sector has, for its part, committed to increasing operations ” cost price “ at the end of the year.
To curb inflation and bring it back around its target objective of 2% by 2025, the European Central Bank has, since July 2022, raised rates at an unprecedented pace, including the cumulative increase over the of the last fourteen months reached 4.50 percentage points. But, if it begins to fall excluding energy, inflation continues to weigh on household consumption. It fell by 0.5% in August over one month. The decline is observed in food (− 0.5%), energy (− 0.6%) and manufactured goods (− 0.5%).