PARIS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- France's consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise only by 0.8 percent year-on-year in February, marking its lowest increase since February 2021, the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) announced on Friday.
In its preliminary report, INSEE highlighted that this would be the first time in three years that year-on-year inflation falls below 1 percent.
The sharp slowdown is primarily attributed to a 5.7 percent annual decline in energy prices, in stark contrast to their sharp increase in February 2024, INSEE noted.
Prices of services, manufactured products and tobacco are also expected to decelerate, while food prices may see a slight uptick, the institute added.
In an economic forecast published in December last year, France's central bank, Banque de France, projected that the country's inflation would continue to decline, reaching an annual average of 1.6 percent in 2025.
"This decline would be explained in particular by negative inflation in energy prices," the bank said. ■