In March, French Annual Inflation Dropped To 2.4% In Early Estimates
According to preliminary data from French statistics agency INSEE, French annual inflation rose 2.4% from last year. But prices in the country rose less than expected in March.
Analysts thought prices would go up by 2.8%, but they only went up by 2.4%. This is less than the 3.2% increase seen in February.
INSEE says this is because prices for things like food, services, tobacco, energy, and goods made by factories increased more slowly.
Using French standards to measure inflation, prices went up by 2.3% in March, down from 3% in February, and lower than the expected 2.6%.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose 0.2% compared with 0.9% in February. INSEE says the decline is because energy prices, especially gas and oil prices have fallen slightly.
However, after the summer sales, a sharp rise in clothing prices pushed factory prices higher.
French President Macron visited Brazil yesterday and spoke out against a possible trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur, the South American trading bloc.
Macron said the deal was bad because it did not address climate and ecological concerns.
Brazil wants to sign the agreement, but France is hesitant because it could mean imports of agricultural products that do not meet EU standards, such as beef.
Brazil’s finance minister said there was still optimism about the deal despite setbacks last year.
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