PARIS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- France's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent year-on-year in November, unchanged from October, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) reported on Friday.
INSEE attributed the stability in inflation to mixed movements across categories. Service prices increased by 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, while prices of manufactured goods fell slightly more sharply than the previous month. These developments were partly offset by a smaller decline in energy prices, which fell by 4.6 percent, and by a modest pickup in food prices, which increased by 1.4 percent year-on-year. Tobacco prices also remained on a stable annual trend, increasing 4.1 percent as in October.
However, on a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.2 percent in November after a 0.1-percent rise in October. According to INSEE, the decrease was mainly due to a 0.5-percent drop in service prices driven by seasonal declines in transport fares.
Underlying inflation eased slightly, standing at 1.0 percent year-on-year in November, compared with 1.2 percent in October. ■