14 September 2017

2017- n° 240

In August 2017, consumer prices rose by 0.5% over a month and by 0.9% year on year Consumer price index - final results - August 2017

In August 2017, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) recovered by 0.5% over a month, after a decline of 0.3% in July. Seasonally adjusted, it increased by 0.2% after two months of stability. Year on year, consumer prices accelerated to +0.9% after +0.7% in July.

Over a month, the rebound in prices resulted from that, seasonal, of manufactured product prices, and also from an upturn in energy prices. Contrariwise, services prices slowed down sharply due to a seasonal downturn in airfares and a slowdown in those of accommodation services. Food prices were stable.

Manufactured products prices recovered sharply in August with the end of summer sales in metropolitan France (+1.1%; −0.7% year on year). However, this rebound was less marked than last year (+1.4% in August 2016) due to a later end date of sales this year. Thus, clothing and footwear prices rebounded less steeply than in August 2016 (+6.3% against +8.7%). Year on year, their prices fell back markedly (−1,3%). The prices of “other manufactured products” recovered moderately (+0.3% after −0.7%; −0.1% year on year). In particular, the prices of furniture and furnishings (+1.6%; 0,0% year on year) and household appliances (+1.1%; −1,5% year on year) rose anew. Contrariwise, the prices of audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment (−0.1%; −2.2% year on year) and open-air equipment (−0.4%; −1.1% year on year) dropped again. Motor car prices were stable over a month (+1.1% year on year). Medical products prices continued to decline slightly (−0,2%; −2.0% year on year).

In August 2017, energy prices rebounded after five consecutive months of decline (+1.2% after −1.3% in July). Year on year, they gathered pace significantly to +4.8% after +1.9% in the previous month. The monthly marked upturn came essentially from that of petroleum products (+1.6% after −1.5%). The annual increase in electricity fees also contributed to it (+1.5% over a month and year on year). The overall rebound was attenuated by a drop in the prices of natural gas and town gas , for the second consecutive month (−0.7% in August; +1.7% year-on-year).

After an acceleration in July, services prices slowed down sharplmy in August (+0.3% after +1.0%; +1.2% year on year). Indeed, the prices of some services rose less than in July, such as accommodation services (+7.6% after +10.5%; +2.8% year on year) and package holidays (+13.2% after +17.0%; +6.8% year on year). The downturn in airfares (−3,2%; +4,3% year on year) also contributed to the slowdown in services prices. Contrariwise, the prices of railway transport accelerated (+0.5% after 0.0%; +0.5% year on year) due to the annual raise in public transport prices.

In August 2017, food prices were stable after having slightly recovered in July (+0.1%). Over a year, they slowed for the second consecutive month (+0.6% after +0.7% in July). The monthly stability came from a slight rise in food prices excluding fresh products (+0.2% over a month, +0.8% over a year) offset by a fall in fresh products prices for the third consecutive month (−0.7% in August; −0.8% year on year), essentially due to fresh vegetable prices (−2.9%). Excluding fresh products, meats (+0.4%;+1.4% year on year) and oils and fats (+1.0%;+3.4% year on year) became more expansive while the prices of dried vegetables (−0.2%; −0,9% year on year) and ice creams (−1.2%; −1,5% year on year) fell back.

In August 2017, the core inflation indicator (ISJ) was stable, as in the previous month. Over a year, it rose by 0.5%, as in July. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) recovered to +0.6% over a month after −0.4% in July; year on year it gathered pace to +1.0% after +0.8% in July.

Compared with the provisional estimates published on 31 August 2017, the month-on-month and year-on-year changes in the CPI and in the HICP have been confirmed.