FRENCH annual inflation eased this month from a three-decade high, the first slowdown in more than a year, official data showed today.

Consumer prices hit 5.8% in August compared with 6.1% last month, which was the highest level since 1985, according to statistics institute Insee.

It was the first time that the annual inflation rate eased off since July 2021, when it was at 1.2%.

Inflation rose after countries began to lift Covid restrictions and it worsened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, which led to a massive surge in energy and food prices.

While the rise in energy prices slowed down in France in August, those of manufactured goods and food is accelerating, Insee said.

On a month-to-month comparison, however, consumer prices rose by 0.4% between July and August following a 0.3% increased between June and July.

Spain also saw inflation ease this month, though it remained elevated at 10.4%, while consumer prices in Germany – the eurozone’s top economy – accelerated again by 7.9%.

The European Central Bank (ECB), which oversees monetary policy in the eurozone, raised its interest rates for the first time in more than a decade last month as energy prices drove inflation ever higher.

The ECB is expected to raise rates again at its next meeting on September 8, with calls increasing for the bank to act decisively. – AFP, August 31, 2022.