Informations Rapides · 13 June 2025 · n° 144

In May 2025, consumer prices decreased by 0.1% over one month and rose by 0.7% year on year Consumer price index - final results - May 2025

In May 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased by 0.1% over one month, after +0.6% in April. This slight fall in prices 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%).

Seasonally adjusted, consumer prices were stable in May 2025 after +0.3% in April.

Year on year, consumer prices went up by 0.7% in May 2025, after +0.8 in April. 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%).

Year on year, core inflation stood at +1.1% in May 2025, after +1.3% in April.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) decreased by 0.2% over a month, after +0.7% in April. Year on year, it rose by 0.6%, after +0.9% in April.

Year on year, services prices rose by 2.1%, after +2.4% in April.

Over one year, transport prices slowed down sharply (+1.2% after +3.9%), driven by a slowdown in air transport prices (+0.7% after +6.2%) and a further slowdown in road transport prices (+3.6% after +5.0%). Rail transport prices accelerated slightly year on year (+0.3% after stability).

Prices for communication services fell at a faster pace than in April (‑15.5% after ‑11.8%).

Prices for health services slowed year on year (+0.8% after +1.4%).

Prices for rents, water and household refuse collection rose at the same rate as in April (+2.7%).

Finally, those of “other services” accelerated slightly (+3.3% after +3.2%), driven by those of insurance (+10.2% after +8.9%) and accommodation services (+1.6% after +1.3%). The prices of catering rose at the same pace than in the previous month (+2.1%). Those of cultural and recreational services slowed down slightly year on year (+1.5% after +1.7%), like those of social protection (child care services, retirement homes for elderly persons and residences for disabled persons, services to maintain people in their private homes: +4.4% after +4.5%).

Year on year, energy prices fell by 8.0% in May 2025, after ‑7.8% in April.

This drop in prices over a year, which was once again more sustained, was explained by the sharp slowdown in gas prices (+22.3% after +29.2%): they fell over a month by 4.4% in May 2025, while they had risen by 1.0% in May 2024.

Electricity prices also fell at a similar pace to April (‑14.0% after ‑14.1%), as those for solid fuels (‑4.9% after ‑5.0%).

Finally, those for petroleum products also fell, but at a slower pace than in the previous month (‑9.7% after ‑10.4%), like those of diesel (‑9.6% after ‑11.0%) and petrol (‑10.7% after ‑10.8%).

Year on year, food prices accelerated slightly in May 2025 for the fifth consecutive month (+1.3% after +1.2%).

Prices of food excluding fresh products accelerated over one year (+1.3% after +0.9%) driven notably by the acceleration in prices of non-alcoholic beverages (+8.0% after +6.4%), alcoholic beverages (+0.3% after +0.1%), bread and cereals (+0.5% after +0.3%), meat (+0.4% after ‑0.1%) and sugar, honey, jam and confectionery (+7.1% after +6.1%). Milk, cheese and egg prices fell at a slower pace than in April (‑0.2% after ‑0.4%) and those of oils and fats fell anew year on year (‑0.5% after stability).

The prices of fresh products slowed down strongly over a year (+1.5% after +4.0%), driven by the downturn in prices of fresh vegetable (‑3.0% after +5.1%) and, to a lesser extent, by the slowdown in fresh fish prices (+2.0% after +2.2%). Conversely, fresh fruit prices accelerated year on year (+6.3% after +4.8%).

Year on year, the prices of manufactured products fell by 0.2% in May, as in April and March.

The prices of clothing and footwear were stable over a year (after +0.1%), and those of health products fell over one year, at a slower pace than in April (‑0.9% after ‑1.2%).

Over a year, prices of “other manufactured products” were virtually stable (‑0.1% after a stability). On the one hand, the prices of newspapers and periodicals slowed slightly down (+2.0% after +2.2%), like those of glassware, tableware and household utensils (+0.3% after +0.7%) and equipment for sport (+0.1% after +0,2%), while those of furniture and furnishings fell at a faster pace than in the previous month (‑0.5% after ‑0.2%) like those of games, toys and hobbies (‑1.0% after ‑0.5%). On the other hand, prices for non-durable household goods fell at a slower pace than in the previous month (‑1.0% after ‑1.3%). Vehicle prices rose at the same rate as in April (+1.1%).

Compared to the provisional estimates published on 27 May 2025, both month-on-month and year-on-year changes in CPI and in HICP are confirmed.