31.07.201803:33:00UTC+00French Inflation Accelerates More Than Expected In July

France's consumer price inflation accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in July, preliminary figures from the statistical office Insee showed Tuesday.

Consumer prices climbed 2.3 percent year-over-year in July, faster than the 2.0 percent increase in June. Economists had expected the inflation to rise to 2.1 percent.

The acceleration was mainly driven by a 14.3 percent surge in energy prices. Food and tobacco prices also grew markedly in July.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down 0.1 percent in July after a stability in June. The expected fall was 0.3 percent. Inflation, based on the harmonized index of consumer prices, quickened to 2.6 percent in July from 2.3 percent in the prior month. That was above the expected rate of 2.4 percent.

Month-on-month, the HICP dropped 0.1 percent in July versus the expected fall of 0.3 percent.