According to the final report from INSEE, consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, recording the first decline since last November 2024. In April, prices increased by 0.6%. The latest change was mainly due to a fourth consecutive drop in the prices of energy (‑1.4% after ‑1.6%), more particularly in those of petroleum products (‑1.7% after ‑2.7%) and gas (‑4.4% after +1.8%), and to a downturn in service prices (‑0.2% after +1.1%). Furthermore, food prices slowed down (+0.5% after +0.7%), while manufactured products prices were virtually stable over one month (+0.1% after +0.1%).
In annual terms, CPI rose by 0.7%, confirming economists' forecasts, but slowing compared to April (+0.8%). This marks the lowest level since February 2021. This slight fall in inflation was due to a slowdown in service prices (+2.1% after +2.4%), and a more sustained drop in energy prices (‑8.0% after ‑7.8%). Food prices accelerated very slightly (+1.3% after +1.2%), and those of manufactured products moved at the same pace as in April (‑0.2%) like those of tobacco (+4.1%).
Meanwhile, the core CPI grew by 1.1% per year after increasing by 1.3% in April.
The data also showed that in May, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) - an indicator that allows to compare inflation in France with inflation in European countries - fell by 0.2% on a monthly basis and rose by 0.6% per year. In April, HICP increased by 0.7% for the month and by 0.9% per year.