Oct 31 (Reuters) - French consumer prices rose in line with expectations in October, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Thursday.
France's harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, increased to 1.5% year-on-year in October.
A poll of 19 economists surveyed by Reuters was expecting a rise of 1.5% on average.
In September, French inflation slowed more than expected to 1.4%.
This near-stability in inflation is due to a slowdown in service prices and a less marked year-on-year fall in energy prices than in September, INSEE said.
Prices for manufactured goods, food and tobacco are expected to evolve year-on-year at rates close to those of the previous month, it added.
Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi
Source: Reuters