France's consumer prices to increase 3.7 pct in December 2023: INSEE

PARIS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- France's year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise by 3.7 percent in December 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said on Thursday.

Although kept under the 4 percent benchmark, December's CPI should be a slight rise from the 3.5 percent confirmed for November 2023, INSEE said in its preliminary report.

"This increase in inflation should be due to the acceleration over one year in prices of energy and services. The prices of manufactured products and food should slow down again," INSEE noted.

According to INSEE, the price of energy should rise by 5.6 percent year-on-year in December 2023 compared with 3.1 percent in November.

As for prices of services, they should rebound in December 2023, driven by those of transports, INSEE said.

In an article published on Thursday, the French daily specialized in economy Les Echos, said that almost all economists expected a continued slowdown in inflation for the year 2024.

"INSEE thus sees it (inflation) at 2.6 percent, over one year in June, while Patrick Artus, economic advisor to Natixis, estimates that it should be around 3.4 percent on annual average in 2024," Les Echos reported.

"The effects of the monetary tightening policy carried out by the European Central Bank should continue to bear fruit by slowing down the economic recovery," it added.