PARIS, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- France's consumer price index (CPI) is estimated to rise 5.8 percent from a year earlier in August, the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said on Wednesday.
This level is down from July, when the CPI jumped 6.1 percent in France, and the institute has attributed the decrease in inflation to the slowdown of energy price hikes.
The prices of services are expected to be at the same level as in July and the prices of manufactured goods and food are likely to rise, the INSEE said in its provisional report.
It said the prices of manufactured goods would increase due to the end-of-summer sales.
The French Parliament adopted a series of measures on Aug. 4 to increase purchasing power and shield the country against energy price spikes and soaring inflation.
A state-financed rebate of 18 euro cents per litre on fuel will be increased to 30 euro cents from September 1 till October 31, a measure that would "lower the level of inflation by a few tenths of a point," said Julien Pouget, economist of INSEE to French economic daily Les Echos.
"The law on purchasing power and the probable easing of crude oil prices given the international situation should allow France to avoid an inflation peak of 7 percent in September," Ana Boata, director of economic research at Allianz Trade, said to Les Echos.
Stephane Colliac with BNP-Paribas said he hoped the measures of the purchasing power bill would be efficient. "If inflation subsides, households should start spending again in the coming months," he was quoted by Les Echos as saying.
According to another report published by the INSEE on Wednesday, France's GDP rebounded 0.5 percent in the second quarter of this year. Final domestic demand and foreign trade contributed 0.2 point and 0.3 point respectively to the GDP growth.
The purchasing power of the gross disposable household income (GDHI), however, decreased by 1.1 percent in the second quarter, the report said. ■
