In May 2023, consumer prices in France experienced a slight decline over one month (-0.1%), while increasing by 5.1% compared to the previous year.
According to the final results of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May 2023, there was a decrease of 0.1% in consumer prices compared to April, where prices had increased by 0.6%. The decline in energy prices played a significant role, with a decrease of 3.0% following a previous decrease of 0.7%. This was mainly driven by a drop in petroleum product prices, which decreased by 5.9% after a previous decline of 0.6%. Food prices also experienced a slowdown, increasing by 0.3% compared to a 0.6% increase in the previous month. The prices of services, particularly transport services, saw a downturn of 2.3% after an increase of 8.1%, contributing to the overall slowdown. The prices of manufactured goods remained stable between April and May 2023, with no significant change (+0.0% after +0.3%).
When seasonally adjusted, consumer prices in May 2023 declined by 0.2% following a 0.6% increase in April.
On a year-on-year basis, consumer prices grew by 5.1% in May 2023, compared to a growth rate of 5.9% in April. This decrease in inflation was mainly due to a slowdown in the prices of energy (+2.0% after +6.8%), food (+14.3% after +15.0%), manufactured goods (+4.1% after +4.6%), and services (+3.0% after +3.2%). However, tobacco prices continued to accelerate for the third consecutive month, with an increase of 9.8% after 9.4%.
The year-on-year core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, decreased to 5.8% in May 2023, down from 6.3% in April.
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which provides a comparison with other European countries, declined by 0.1% in May 2023 compared to the previous month, after an increase of 0.7%. On a year-on-year basis, the HICP increased by 6.0% in May 2023, down from 6.9% in April.
In summary, consumer prices in France experienced a slight decline in May 2023, with a year-on-year growth rate of 5.1%. This decrease was driven by a slowdown in energy, food, and service prices, while core inflation also showed a slight decline.