Inflation & Prices

French Inflation Cools to Lowest Level in Two Years

  • Consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year ago; est. 3.6%
  • Investors betting inflation slowdown will bring April rate cut

Shoppers in Paris.

Photographer: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg
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French inflation eased more than expected in January to reach its lowest level since before Russia invaded Ukraine — the latest sign that the euro area’s efforts to tame surging prices are nearing an end.

The reading for the currency bloc’s second-largest economy came in at 3.4% from a year ago, slowing from 4.1% in December. That’s less than the 3.6% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and well below the 7.3% peak notched in February 2023.