June 27 (Reuters) - French consumer prices rose more than expected in June, ending a streak of declining inflation as service costs accelerated and energy price falls moderated, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Friday.
France's harmonised inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 0.8% year-on-year in June, up from 0.6% in May, which was the lowest since December 2020.
A Reuters poll of 19 analysts had on average expected a rate of 0.7%, with estimates ranging from 0.4% to 0.8%.
The uptick was driven by an acceleration in service prices, which rose 2.4% on the year in June, up from 2.1% in May. INSEE attributed this to faster growth in accommodation, health and transport costs.
Energy prices fell 6.9% compared with June 2024, a smaller decline than May's 8.0% drop. Food prices rose 1.4%, slightly faster than the 1.3% increase in May.
Prices of manufactured goods remained in negative territory at -0.2%, unchanged from the previous month, while tobacco price inflation slowed slightly to 4.0% from 4.1%.
Inflation measured by France's own consumer price index rose 0.9% over the year through June, up from 0.7% in May.
Despite the increase, France continues to record among the lowest inflation rates in the euro zone this year.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates earlier this month, with President Christine Lagarde saying it was in a good position as inflation fell below the ECB's 2% target.
Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said earlier this month that if the ECB were to change its monetary policy, it would most likely be a cut.
Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro Editing by Mark Heinrich and Gareth Jones
Source: Reuters