France’s inflation dropped to 4.3% in July, the lowest level since February last year, while the UK economy has avoided stagnation, growing 0.2% between April and June.
Two of Europe’s biggest economies received good news on Friday, with inflation dropping to the lowest level since February 2022 in July in France, and the UK avoiding stagnation after reporting a modest growth of 0.2% between April and June.
Consumer price inflation in France slowed down to 4.3% last month from 4.5% in June, with energy prices falling by 3.7% year-on-year. Food prices, on the other end, were still 12.7% higher in July 2023 than a year before – though they were down compared to the 13.7% year-on-year recorded in June.
The price of transport also rose by 5.4% in the last 12 months, while communication services are now 6.1% cheaper compared to last year. The category “rents, water and household waste collection” has increased by 3.1% over the past year. The price of tobacco rose by 9.8% year-on-year.
Core inflation, which excludes prices subject to state intervention and products with highly volatile prices, fell from 5.7% in June to 5.0% in July year-on-year.
Despite the slowdown, inflation in France remains well above the European Central Bank’s ideal target of close to, but below 2%.
