French inflation revised notch down to 2.6% in May

FILE PHOTO: A shopper pays with a twenty Euro banknote at a local market in Nantes, France, February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo

(Reuters) - Consumer prices in France rose 2.6% year-on-year in May, statistics office INSEE said on Friday, slightly revising down its preliminary reading of a 2.7% increase published in late May.

EU-harmonised year-on-year inflation in the bloc's second-biggest economy accelerated in May in comparison to the April reading of 2.4%.

This slight acceleration is due to rising energy prices caused by a base effect on petroleum product prices and minor food price increases, INSEE said.

However, service and tobacco prices were slowing in May and the prices of manufactured goods remained stable.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1% in May after a 0.6% rise in April, INSEE said, also slightly revising downwards its earlier reading of a 0.2% rise.

(Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)