Inflation rebounded to 5.9% year on year in April in France, after slowing to 5.7% in March, according to an initial estimate published on Friday by INSEE, which attributes this jump to oil prices. energy and services. The cost of energy products (gas, electricity, oil) thus increased by 7% between April 2022 and April 2023, after a more moderate increase of 4.9% over one year in March. The acceleration of inflation is less marked with regard to tobacco (+9.4% over one year after +7.8%) and services (+3.2% after +2.9%).
The rise in the price of food products, on the other hand, was less rapid than in March, since their prices rose by 14.9% over one year after having reached 16% the previous month, details the National Institute of Statistics and economic studies (INSEE). Food inflation has become the main driver of inflation in 2023, supplanting energy. The slowdown in the rise in food prices in April mainly concerns fresh produce, the cost of which increased by 10.2% over one year, after having jumped by more than 17% in March.
A next estimate mid-May
Other food products rose by 15.8% over one year, a rate almost identical to that of the previous month (15.7%). Finally, the price of manufactured products rose by 4.7% over one year, a very slight slowdown compared to March (4.8%). Other good news, “over one month, consumer prices should increase by 0.6% in April 2023, after +0.9% in March”, says INSEE.
Although the consumer price index accelerated again over one year in April, its progression remains lower than that recorded in February (6.3% over one year), a month marked by the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. . The Russian military offensive has caused energy prices to soar in Europe in 2022 and fueled inflation, which has returned in France and Europe to levels not seen for several decades. Insee is due to publish a second estimate of French inflation in April in mid-May.