France Inflation Rate Unexpectedly Picks Up

2026-07-31 06:51 By Kyrie Dichosa 1 min. read

The annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 2.1% in July 2026, defying market expectations that it would hold at June's 1.8%, according to preliminary estimates.

The pickup was mainly driven by faster increases in services prices (2.3% vs. 1.9% in June), particularly for accommodation and communication services, alongside stronger energy inflation (12.4% vs. 11.0%) amid higher gas and petroleum product prices.

Meanwhile, the decline in manufactured goods prices eased (-0.7% vs. -1.1%), partly reflecting less pronounced seasonal sales effects, while food inflation held steady at 0.9% and tobacco inflation remained unchanged at 3.3%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%, rebounding from a 0.3% decline in June, driven by seasonal increases in transport and accommodation services as well as higher energy prices.

The EU-harmonised annual inflation rate also accelerated to 2.4% from 2.0%, while the monthly HICP increased 0.6% after falling 0.3% in June.



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