French preliminary inflation at 0.9% in February

(Reuters) – French consumer prices increased less than anticipated in February, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Friday.

France’s harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 0.9% year-on-year in February, INSEE said.

The rate dropped below 1% for the first time since February 2021.

A poll of 16 economists surveyed by Reuters had on average expected a 1.2% rise of the harmonized consumer price index in the second month of the year, with estimates ranging from 0.9% to 1.7%.

(Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)